Christy Lea Bernard

Christy Lea Bernard of Sedalia, Mo passed away on March 9, 2023. She was born on August 15, 1931 in Bourbon, Mo, the daughter of Christian Gintz and Martha Elizabeth (Missey) Sherr. Christy graduated from Bourbon High School in 1949 and attended Girl’s State. At Bourbon High, she excelled in academics, basketball and cheerleading.

She had a long career as an administrative assistant at Hubbard Elementary School, State Fair Community College in the Career Educational Department and at Washington Elementary School. She was beloved by the students and faculty alike.

She met the love of her life, William Britt Bernard, in 1970 and they married in 1973. Christy and Britt loved to travel, listen to music and they reveled in the lives of their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Theirs was a blended family with seven teenagers, who tested their love and patience regularly.  Christy and Britt were surrounded by their great friends, Helen and Jack Baker, Barb and Joe Hewitt and Kenny and Charlotte Cordry. Christy and Britt had wonderful years together until Britt’s death in 2005.

Christy loved to spend time with her family and her friends, she loved to play bridge and gin rummy, she was an absolutely voracious reader, often reading a book a day, she was a great letter writer and a mean crossword puzzle solver, she made beautiful quilts and embroidery, and she loved to laugh. Her smile and laughter were spontaneous and infectious. She made friends easily and cherished her closest relationships.

She was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and was a founding member of Our Savior Lutheran Church and she considered both to be her spiritual homes. She was a long-time supporter of St. Paul’s Lutheran School, where her children all attended.

Preceding her in death were her parents, her brothers Christian and Bud, her sisters Ellen and Mary, first husband William Morrow, father of her children, and her husband, Britt.

She is survived by her children Bill Morrow and his wife Barbara, Sedalia, Melissa Rigoli, Independence, Becky Baker, Sedalia, and Jim Morrow and his wife Hillary, Kansas City and her step-children Cathy (Bernard) Gaffney and her husband Pat, Prescott, Arizona, Therese Bernard, San Diego, and Vince Bernard, Galveston, Texas, her grandchildren Bill Morrow and his wife Melody, Megan (Morrow) Hertzog and her husband John, Travis Baker, Rocky Rigoli and his wife Lisa, Alison Morrow and Amanda (Morrow) Pestotnik and her husband Matt, and great-grandchildren, Dalton Oetting, Darion Morrow, Kennedy Hertzog, Norah Hertzog, Luka Pestotnik, and more to come, and her younger brother Ben Sherr of Sedalia.

She leaves behind a legacy of love of family, love of learning and a deep abiding faith in God that saw her through so many good and bad times. She was a woman of strong intellect and even stronger character. Most importantly, she was our wonderful mother.

A private burial will be at Crown Cemetery beside her husband. Visitation will be on March 18, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 301 E. Broadway in Sedalia. A Celebration of Life will follow at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church or School.

Arrangements are in the care of Heckart Funeral Home.