Dates
Bernice Przilas Schwartz, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend gained her angel wings August 6, 2024.
Bernice was born September 4, 1943 in Schulenberg,Tx to Otto and Martha Klein Przilas; the youngest of four children. At the age of 4 months, the family moved to Umbager, Tx (Randall County) where Bernice went to school, won spelling bees and graduated high school in 1962.
In that same year, she married the love of her life and favorite dancing partner, Kenneth Schwartz on November 22. The newlyweds relocated to San Angelo, where Bernice lived while working on the family farm, gardening, raising her four children and remaining active in her faith. Bernice was Kennth’s tractor pulling, truck driving, cotton stomping help mate for 61 years. She and Kenneth had four loving children. CynDee, Kent (special friend, Jan), Kyle, and K’Cee.
Bernice had a strong and special relationship with her only grandchild, Taylor. She would let him drive down the road on her lap as a toddler, never missed a football or baseball game, gave him his very own treats drawer and enjoyed surprising him with meals of pork chops and green apples left in his truck at school. She was very proud of the outstanding man he has become.
Bernice was an avid supporter of her children and community; she enjoyed attending and cheering her children and their friends at Wall Hawk football, basketball, baseball games, and band recitals. She and Kenneth loved to fish and camp and would often take their children to the river. The last meal of the trip was always fried fish and homemade pickles from the garden. She also made the best homemade ice cream for ice cream suppers.
Bernice loved to dance. She was a member of the Wall Polka Dance club where she and Kenneth would dance the nights away all over the state of Texas. They were a beautiful sight to behold, spinning and gliding across the floor in their polka costumes that Bernice had sewn with pride.
Bernice was an active member at St. Ambrose Catholic parish. She volunteered as a reader, Eucharistic minister, sacristan, and sang in the church choir using her voice to praise the lord. She trained altar servers, was part of the baptism preparation team and made corsages, boutonnières and beautiful bench markers for parishioners’ weddings. She was an active member of St Helen’s Altar society and Catholic Daughters of America: Court of St Catherine of Sienna.
Bernice loved being outdoors and working in her garden. She had a green thumb and grew every vegetable imaginable. She loved flowers and made many trips across the state with her daughters in search of new and unusual flowers to bring back to West Texas. Bernice was also known to carry a shovel in her car at all times, in case she passed a plant on the roadside that she had to have. In 2013, she became a Master Gardener.
Bernice was an enthusiastic and accomplished quilter, belonging to two quilting clubs: the Wall Country Quilters and the Piece Makers. She enjoyed her monthly socials with her Bunko friends and wanted them all to know how thankful she was for them being her eyes so she could see and continue to play as she struggled with her vision in later years.
Bernice always said that she felt like she would return to earth as a mockingbird. “They always have something more to say and so do I.” Whenever you see a mockingbird, remember her with a fond memory and smile wholeheartedly. She will be missed but will carry on through the multiple memories and lives of the people she touched.
Bernice will be available for viewing on Thursday, August 8, 2024, at Harper Funeral Home from 8:00 A.M. – 7:00 P.M. The Graveside Service will be 11:00 A.M., Friday, August 9, 2024, at St. Ambrose Catholic Cemetery in Wall, Texas.
Family and friends may share condolences and sign the online register book at www.harper-funeralhome.com.