NORTHBROOK, IL (July 21, 2009) – It was a mixture of celebration, sadness, humor and warm reflection as family and friends gathered Monday at Northbrook Covenant Church to remember the life and contributions of Bernice P. Brandel, who died July 8 at age 95.
Bernice and her late husband, Paul W. Brandel, were well known throughout Evangelical Covenant Church circles and beyond not only for their generosity, but for their powerful witness of faith in Christ.
Born May 10, 1914, in Chicago, Bernice married Henry F. Stege in 1943. Following Henry’s death in 1975, she married Paul in 1976.
Paul Brandel died in 1986 and since that time, Bernice devoted her life to continuing that legacy of generosity, especially causes that support children and students, as well as Covenant Ministries of Benevolence (CMB), North Park University and Theological Seminary, the denomination, her local Covenant church, Covenant camps and others.
Bernice had been planning for this day since 2003, said Covenant Village of Northbrook Chaplain Richard Bergstrom of Monday’s memorial service. She planned every detail, from soloists and songs to be sung to the specific version of the Bible to be used for the reading of scripture (King James version).
“Deep inside her were thoughts that planning one’s own memorial service should not be so much fun,” Bergstrom mused, “but it was.” Despite the many accomplishments of both Paul and Bernice, the chaplain stressed that Monday’s service was intended to lift up Christ and to celebrate Bernice’s commitment to God and the important work of the church.
“She would not want this homily to focus on her,” said Derek Walles, pastor of Thomas Church in Stockholm, Sweden, who Bernice asked four years ago to preach her funeral sermon. Rather, she would want the message to “focus on Jesus and the gift of life and his saving love,” Walles explained. “That is what she would want remembered.”
Walles (shown speaking in top photo) is the son of Charles and Darlene Walles, – the Brandel and Walles families have been close friends over the years. Chuck Walles serves as president of Covenant Trust Company.
“Her faith drove her curiosity,” the pastor noted. “God was her focus.”
He recalled one time when Bernice called him in Sweden and asked, “You’re not preaching to the choir over there, are you? There are a lot of people who need to hear about Jesus Christ.”
Walles shared a conversation he had with Bernice not long ago. “She asked God, ‘Why as I still here?’ She felt God answered, ‘To do what you were created for – to enjoy me.’ ”
“And that’s the challenge,” Walles noted, “to continue enjoying God. We forget what we were truly created for. Bernice knew that there was nothing more important that receiving and enjoying God. She knew that God has done for us and given to us more than we could ever repay. In her 95 years of life, the most important lesson was not about who or what she knew or what she had accomplished or where her treasures went, but about knowing who God is and enjoying him.”
Earlier in the service, two of her grandchildren, Kristine Classen and Robert Anderson, shared what became a familiar theme throughout the several reflections that were offered – a person who believed deeply that what God had given was to be shared with others, and her devotion to her family and encouraging them to live lives similarly devoted to Christ and his work on this earth.
Reflections also were shared by LeRoy Johnson, who described Bernice as a “spunky lady – you never had to wonder what she was thinking.” He spoke of her deep concern for young people, including those in Sweden, and her gifts of books to pastors attending the annual Midwinter Pastors Conference as a way to help them continue their education. “Her passion was deep and contagious,” Johnson observed. “She was a difference-maker.”
David Dwight (lower photo), CMB president, shared three qualities he observed in her life that left a lasting impression on him: her inquisitive mind, her generous heart, and her passionate faith. Although she enjoyed sharing memories of the past, Dwight noted that her focus was always on the future, even at age 95.
Special vocal music was provided by Arthur A.R. Nelson, parish associate pastor at Winnetka Covenant Church in Wilmette, Illinois, and James Hawkinson, executive minister emeritus of Covenant Communications, from White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
To read a previously published story, click here.
