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Bernard John Gaspar
Born: 4/21/1928
Died: 6/16/2020
Age: 92
Community: Clarkston, MI
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GASPER, Bernard “Bernie” of Clarkston, Michigan, formerly of Burton, passed peacefully on June 16th, 2020 after a long battle with congestive heart failure and kidney disease. His family was at his bedside at home. Cremation has taken place. A private Memorial Mass will be celebrated. The service can be viewed LIVE at 11:00 AM on Friday, June 19, 2020 by using the following link: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCsWDELFFReZJfbbNcV6PVnQ or at a later time by using the link on holyrosaryflint.com that will take you right to their YouTube channel. A public celebration of life will take place at a later date. Bernie’s family asks in lieu of flowers, to just be kind to others and love one another.
Bernie was born April 21, 1928 in Duluth, Minnesota. Son of the late Mat Gasper(i?) and Madeline Brula. He was the youngest child and the only child in his family to be born in a hospital. They moved to Millington, Michigan, when Bernie was 3 years old. Bernie missed growing up with his Minnesota cousins, but did his best to keep in touch in his later years, plus learned about his Slovenian heritage from them.
Coming to Michigan near the start of the Great Depression, the family made do without modern appliances--or sometimes even running water--in a series of modest dwellings. Bernie’s father ran a butcher shop at the local Farm Bureau grocery store, and his own little blacksmith and welding shop. Closer to the Depression’s end in 1939 they got their first powered washing machine, a gas one since they did not get electricity until the next year.
Bernie married Donna from Millington, MI – his High School sweetheart. They lived with her parents while he spent weekends building them their own home, from the ground up in less than a year. After moving in just after Christmas, they raised 4 children there in faith and in love. Donna preceded him in death on March 5th, 2013. Bernie was a devoted husband who determinedly cared for Donna throughout the difficult challenges of her illness of over 40 years.
Bernie supported his family mainly as a skilled trade welder for Buick motor division. He told his youngest grandchild that to qualify for that job he had needed to agree to work twelve hours a day, seven days a week, for two months! Bernie proudly retired in 1988 after 38 years in foundry and factories without a serious injury. That care and his adept craftsmanship won him the admiration of coworkers and supervisors, who grew to rely not just on Bernie’s work but his judgment, especially with tricky installations such as conveyor belts. Later, many younger relatives (and others) benefited from Bernie’s guidance and help in getting training and their own jobs.
Bernie was a devoted father, grandfather and great grandfather who loved his family, and did not want to leave them. He was there to babysit, help build homes, mow lawns, grow gardens, fish, hunt, boating, playing ball, building rinks and ice skating, snowmobiling, quilting, picking fresh fruit at U-Pick farms, picking grandkids up from school or attending their school functions, family trips--he even built his kids a swing set and his family a camper, each nearly from scratch! Towing that camper on many vacations, often to visit national parks, he taught his children to respect and love nature. Board games and card playing were also heavily used as entertainment and teaching occasions: Bernie taught his children to be competitive, but also that it was enjoying playing the game that was important, not necessarily being the winner.
Raised Catholic, and respectful of all religions, Bernie believed and taught his family to have no gender bias; that women could learn all trades and to swing a hammer or repair a car just as well as a man; that a man could sew, quilt, do dishes, vacuum, wash windows etc.; and to love anyone no matter what their race, religion, sexual preference or if they were rich, poor, educated or not. He truly loved everyone and never had a bad thing to say about anyone.
Bernie sincerely loved to help others, too. He was known for doing more for them than for himself. He volunteered for St. Leo’s and for Holy Rosary Church which included the festival, rummage sale, Sunday morning donuts and more; his favorite service was making beef pasties. He also volunteered for his community and enjoyed helping at the North End Soup Kitchen and Habitat for Humanity and being a chess coach. He was called Grandpa by many, which always made him smile. Whatever the task, one of his favorite lines of encouragement for all was “put some effort into it!”.
Bernie did not have much time for a personal hobby, but he did make time to research his Slovenian genealogy, documenting his findings in calendars, charts and collections of carefully labeled photos. He always delighted in talking with his Brula cousins: they held a special spot in his heart. A highlight of his life was his long vacation to Slovenia in 2001, staying with his wonderful Slovenian family in the ancestral home while meeting new relatives and touring the lovely countryside together.
After moving to Clarkston a few years ago, Bernie enjoyed going to Planet Fitness with his son-in-law, Jay. Bernie liked to good-spiritedly complain with a twinkle in his eye that “they don’t let me do nothing,” so one day Jay replied “Well, let’s go to Planet Fitness.” Jay doesn’t think Bernie ever refused the invitation!
Bernie is survived by daughters Elaine (Jay), LeAnne (Allen), sons Leland (Ana), and Elon (Liz), grandchildren Clary, Anna (Brian), Jacob, Odessa (Mikel), Sarah, and Leo, great grandchildren Katie and James, brothers-in-law Bruce (Millie) and Larry (Joyce), sister-in-law Dorothy and many nephews, nieces, cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by his brothers and sisters: infant Mat, Matthew (Dorothy), Pat (John), Madeline (Art), and adopted sister Mary (Zeno).
The family would like to thank All Americans Home Health & Hospice Care, and his Hospice nurse Scott, who could make him laugh.
Please share your thoughts with the family at www.allenfuneralhomeinc.com
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6/19/2020 |
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