Thank You For Your Service!
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Obit for Bernice posted by Jo Aguirre
Dec 3, 1924 - Aug 24, 2026

© Greer Funeral Home

Bernice LaVon Duncan, a lifelong resident of Southwest Oklahoma, passed peacefully from this life on Monday, August 24, 2026, at Tamarack Assisted Living in Altus, Oklahoma, at the remarkable age of 101.

Bernice was born on December 3, 1924, in Roosevelt, Oklahoma, sharing a birthday with her father as well as her niece, Shirley. She was the sixth of eight children born to Grant and Lillie Mae Dempsey. With four boys and four girls in the family, the Dempsey household was filled with hard work, laughter, faith, and the simple joys of growing up in rural Oklahoma. Bernice and her siblings were raised on the family homestead at the foot of Dempsey Peak, south of Centerville, Oklahoma. Throughout her life, she treasured memories of those early years and could tell wonderful stories of roaming the homestead, exploring the countryside, and climbing Dempsey Peak with her brothers, sisters, cousins, and friends. Those childhood years helped shape the woman Bernice would become. Growing up during the Great Depression taught her the value of hard work, resourcefulness, gratitude, and perseverance. She belonged to a generation that learned early to make the most of what they had, to help their neighbors, to keep their word, and to face hardship without complaint. Bernice carried those lessons with her for the rest of her life. After graduating from Consolidated No. 8 School, Bernice continued her education at Cameron University. It was there that she met the young man who would become her husband, Vernon "Shorty" Duncan. Their young lives, like those of so many of their generation, were interrupted by World War II. While Shorty left to serve his country in the military, Bernice found her own way to contribute to the war effort. She went to work at Tinker Air Force Base, working in the aircraft production effort. Following the war, Bernice continued her education at Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in education and prepared for what would become one of the great callings of her life-teaching. Bernice began her teaching career in Headrick before finding her professional home in Gould, Oklahoma. For more than 37 years, she devoted herself to educating young people, primarily as a home economics teacher, while also spending several years teaching high school chemistry. To Bernice, teaching was never simply a paycheck or a profession. It was a calling. She often said that she loved every student she ever taught and once remarked that she would have taught even if they had not paid her. Generations of students passed through her classroom, and Bernice gave each of them something more valuable than what could be found in a textbook. She taught responsibility, patience, self-reliance, respect, and pride in a job well done. If something was worth doing, Bernice believed it was worth doing correctly. Yet beneath that determination was an extraordinarily gentle heart with a dash of sass. Her Christian faith was at the center of the way she lived. Bernice was a longtime member of the First Methodist Church in Gould, Oklahoma. She believed in kindness, compassion, service, forgiveness, and treating others with dignity.

Bernice possessed an extraordinary curiosity about the world and believed a person should never stop learning. Even after earning her degree, raising a family, and completing a long career in education, she continued taking college courses simply for the joy of learning. At Western Oklahoma State College, she enjoyed art and photography classes alongside friends. Age was never an excuse to stop discovering something new. Bernice also enjoyed gardening, sewing, cooking, and music held a special place in her heart. She played both the piano and violin, and she loved to dance. Bernice approached life with genuine appreciation and lived it to the fullest. Bernice and her sister-in-law, Grace Dempsey, were avid OKC Thunder fans who didn't miss watching games in Bernice's room. Above everything else, she treasured her family. Bernice had great love for her parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. The Dempsey family gatherings were a highlight in her life. She proudly made a birthday cake for her mother, Lillie Mae, each year which included Lillie's 106th birthday. Her love for family certainly flowed into her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She enjoyed filling Christmas stockings for everyone and cooking a great meal for family gatherings. The lessons Bernice taught, the love she gave, and the lives she touched will continue on. She taught us well. She lived well. She loved well. And because of that, her 101 years will continue to matter for generations to come.

Bernice leaves behind far more than memories. She leaves a legacy-written in the lives of her family, in the generations of students she taught, in the community she served, and in the Christian example she quietly lived every day.

Bernice was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Vernon "Shorty" Duncan; her parents, Grant and Lillie Mae Dempsey; her brothers, Clifton Dempsey, Uriel Dempsey, George Dempsey, and Lloyd Dempsey; her sisters, Geneva McKelvey and Ernestine Morpher; and her son-in-law, Ronnie Bohot. Left to honor and cherish her memory are her son, Rickey Duncan and wife Rita; daughter, Belinda Bohot; sister, Charlena Mask; grandchildren, Trent and Stephanie Bohot, Bryce Bohot and Kassie, Jennifer and Chad Shotts, Sara and Logan Childers, Tom and Lori Howry , and Sheila and Shawn Struble; great-grandchildren, Maysun Bohot, Sawyer Bohot, Hayes Bohot, Gavin Bohot, Brycenn Bohot, Ronnie J. Bohot, Brooks Bohot, Bray Bohot, Baron Bohot, Sydney Shotts, Duncan Shotts, Grayson Childers, Delta Childers, Ruby Childers, Grace Howry, Brett Howry, Hartly Howry, Karsyn Struble and Kendyl Struble; along with many nieces, nephews, former students, friends, and generations of people whose lives were made better because

Bernice Duncan was part of them. The last 11 years of Bernice's life she lived at Tamarack Assisted Living and enjoyed every minute. She loved everyone who worked in the building and felt loved by them too. She had lots of good laughs with many of the employees.

The family can never thank everyone enough at Tamarack and Dr. Abraham for the tender loving care she was given through the years and especially this last year. We will be forever grateful to all those angels who work there. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The Bernice Duncan Family.

The Dempsey family will receive friends from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Thursday, August 26, 2026 at Lowell - Tims Funeral Home Chapel, Altus, Oklahoma.

Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, August 26, 2026 at Lowell - Tims Funeral Home Chapel, with interment to follow at Gould Cemetery, Where Mrs. Duncan will be laid to rest next to beloved "Shorty". Services have been entrusted to Lowell - Tims Funeral Home and Crematory, Altus, Oklahoma.