Bernita 'Bea' Jane O'Connor

Bernita Jane (Holm) OConnor, age 89, loving mother, grandmother and sister passed away peacefully Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at Huron Woods Nursing Center in Kawkawlin. A private funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 18, at Prince of Peace Parish, Sacred Heart Catholic Church (2510 Fraser Rd., Kawkawlin) with her son, Father Patrick O'Connor, presiding. The service will be streamed live on Beas tribute page at www.CharlesRLux.com. Private burial in Calvary Cemetery will follow the service. The family will receive friends at the church on Sunday, May 17, from 2 " 6 p.m. (adhering to COVID-19 protocols). In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Bay City, Bay Area Womens Center, or Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Venice FL (Immokalee Migrant Workers Food Drive). Bernita was born December 17, 1930 in Cass City, Michigan daughter of the late Charles and Mildred (Erickson) Holm. She married the love of her life, Daniel J. OConnor, on June 24, 1950 at St. John the Evangelist Church in Essexville. A devout Catholic, Bernita attended numerous parishes throughout her life including her home parish of St. John The Evangelist in Essexville, Sacred Heart in Kawkawlin, Holy Trinity Parish in Bay City, St. Anne Parish in Edenville, and St. Mary Parish - Nine Mile in Pinconning. Bea and Dan were founding members of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Nokomis, FL, and most recently, members of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Venice. Her multiple ministries and missions included refurbishing the Ministries Institute for the Diocese of Saginaw, annual works of mission in Jackson, Minnesota for the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, and Christmas deliveries to Boone County, KY. Bea and Dan became known as "Father Charlie's Angels" at the retreat center of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat and Spirituality Center in Venice. Bea worked at Bay City Chevrolet as a parts inspector in the early 1950s. She received her license to practice cosmetology in the 1960s and worked for Montines Salon in Bay City before opening her own salon, Accent Hair Salon, which she operated out of her home in Kawkawlin for more than a decade. She was Commissioned as a Lay Minister for the Diocese of Saginaw in October of 1985. She lived in Cass City, Essexville, Bay City, Kawkawlin, and Albright Shores on Wixom Lake before moving to Venice, Florida. Bea enjoyed baking, gardening, entertaining, writing letters, sending greeting cards, and most of all, adventures with Dan and time with her children and grandchildren. Bernita is survived by her three children, Father Patrick O'Connor of Kawkawlin, Daniel O'Connor of North Port, FL, and Erin (Shaun) Sullivan of Bay City; three granddaughters, Danielle (John) Hoey of Grand Rapids, Caitlin Miller of Pinconning, and Meaghan Sullivan of Ypsilanti; great granddaughters, Emma and Charleigh Miller; and brother, Charles Junior (Norma) Holm. She was preceded in death by her husband Dan on March 30, 2018; her parents; her sister, Barbara and her husband, Nelson Maillette; her in-laws and their spouses, Joseph and Odetta O'Connor, Raymond and Patricia O'Connor, Vincent and Yvonne O'Connor, Theresa and Lloyd Pajot, and Francis (Lloyd) and LuAnn O'Connor. The OConnor Family extends its deepest gratitude to Huron Woods Nursing Center for the wonderful care that was given to Bea.

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