Bernice Louise Hackett

Bernice Louise Hackett (née Nelson) died peacefully on February 29, 2012, after a long, brave and resolute struggle with Lewy Body dementia. Bernice was born February 10, 1925, in Lucas, Kansas. Her father died when she was a small child, and Bernice was raised by her mother and stepfather in a loving home. She attended public school in Lucas, and she enjoyed recalling stories about playing trombone in the school band and the tornado that came through town the night before her high school graduation in 1943. She was then employed by The Russell Record, a newspaper in Russell, Kansas. She met and married Paul Hackett of Canton, Ohio, in 1944, when he was stationed at Walker Army Airfield in Kansas. After World War II, the couple relocated to Ohio, making their home in Perry Township, where Bernice had a career as a homemaker and mother. She was a long-time member of Faith Lutheran Church in Massillon, as well as a member of the Legacy Chapter No. 596 Order of the Eastern Star and a past member of the Perry Township Women's Club. Bernice was devoted to her grandchildren, enjoyed the music of Elvis Presley and delighted in leaving her Christmas decorations up until her birthday in February. The highlight of her final years was her three-year-old great-grandson, Nicholas. Bernice is survived by daughter Mona Jeanette Reuscher (William) of Copley Township, Ohio; son Gregory Paul Hackett (Elizabeth Brumbaugh) of Bath Township, Ohio; grandchildren Christopher Paul Reuscher, Esq. (Tara Mauch, Esq.) of Copley Township; Taylor Renée Hackett, Dana Christine Hackett and Paige Greer Hackett of Bath Township; great-grandson Nicholas Christopher Reuscher of Copley Township; nephew Kelly Banks of Montana; and nieces Becky Lyme of Missouri and Tammy Sittig of Kansas. Bernice was preceded in death by her husband, Paul William Hackett; parents Axel Nelson and Sylvia Farrington Nelson Rembe; stepfather George Rembe; and sisters Edeline Sittig, Virginia Nelson and Dorothy Banks. Friends may call at the Paquelet and Arnold-Lynch Funeral Home on Sunday, March 11, 2012 from 5:00 PM – 7:00PM, Eastern Star service at 4:45PM. A private funeral service and committal will be held at Sunset Hills Burial Park on Monday, March 12, 2012. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Crossroads Hospice of Northeast Ohio, 3743 Boettler Oaks Drive, Suite E, Green, Ohio 44685. Messages of condolence and support may be sent to the family at www.arnoldlynch.com Paquelet and Arnold-Lynch Funeral Home and Crematory 330-833-4839 Member of The Golden Rule