Aston, PA—Sister Bernadette [de Lourdes] Gardiner, OSF, 98, died in Assisi House on Sunday, November 12, 2023, one week prior to her 99th birthday. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 76 years. Sister Bernadette was born Elizabeth Ruth Gardiner in Jackson, Minnesota. She was a graduate of Estherville High School in Iowa and a member of Visitation Parish in Pendleton, Oregon, when she entered the congregation in 1945. She professed her first vows in 1947. Sister Bernadette earned a BS in Education from Marylhurst College and a MA in Theology from Gonzaga University.  She ministered primarily in education and parish ministry.

Sister Bernadette ministered for 29 years in the Diocese of Baker where she taught at St. Andrew’s Indian Mission, Pendleton; St. Francis Academy, Baker; and St. Joseph Academy, Pendleton.  She also served as the associate director of the Baker Diocesan CCD office and taught religious education at the CCD Center in Prineville.

Sister Bernadette served for 17 years in the San Bernardino Diocese in parish ministry at St. Thomas More Parish in Rialto. Additional ministry includes seven years in Portland at Our Lady of Angels School and at St. Pius X Church, as well as, two years in Spokane as supervisor of St. Joseph’s Children’s Home.

In the Archdiocese of Seattle, Sister Bernadette ministered for 16 years.  Here she served as a house parent at St. Ann’s Children’s Home, a caregiver, and as a volunteer at the Wilsonville Senior Center before moving to St. Ann Convent in Tacoma in 2014, where she served in prayer ministry and as a volunteer until moving east.  In 2018 she moved to Assisi House, the congregation’s retirement residence in Aston, Pennsylvania, where she served in prayer and hospitality ministry until her death.

All services will be held in Assisi House on Wednesday, November 15, and will be livestreamed. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 9:30 A.M. followed by viewing. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 A.M. Internment of ashes will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Sister Bernadette is survived by her many nieces and nephews and by her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.

For a more personal write-up on Sister Bernadette, click here.