Francis Bernd

Francis Tate Bernd age 89, of Cherryvale, Kansas died Friday, December 4, 2009 at the Prairie Mission Retirement Village in St. Paul, Kansas. Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, December 11, 2009 at the Potts Chapel in Cherryvale, Kansas with Chuck Bernd officiating. Burial will follow in the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Cemetery in Cherryvale, Kansas. Visitation hours will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 9, 2009 and from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Thursday, December 10, 2009 with the family receiving friends from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Potts Chapel in Cherryvale, Kansas. Francis Tate Bernd was born February 14, 1920 in Cherryvale, Kansas to Charles John and Anna Burt Bernd. He grew up in Cherryvale, Kansas and attended the Cherryvale School System. On April 23, 1940 Tate married Catherine Molidor in Cherryvale, Kansas the couple later
orced. On April 29, 1944 Tate entered the United States Navy serving all over the Pacific Ocean. He was stationed on the S.S. Ewing Young which was an armored guard for Liberty ships. He was honorable discharged because of injuries on July 13, 1945. On February 23, 1957 Tate married Gladys I. Krone in Roswell, New Mexico she preceded him in death in May of 1999. The couple lived in Chanute, Kansas before moving to Cherryvale, Kansas in 1974. Tate worked as a driller, iron worker and boiler maker. He owned and operated a scrap yard in Cherryvale, Kansas. He was a member of the VFW Post 1654 in Chanute, Kansas, American Legion Post 170 in Chanute, Kansas, disabled American veterans and attended the United Methodist Church in Cherryvale, Kansas. Survivors include two sons Larry and wife Janet Bernd of Liberty, Kansas and Charles and wife Debbie Bernd of Dummer, New Hampshire; 7 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two sons Gary and Donald Bernd, five brothers and two sisters.