Bernice L. Bigelow

The funeral service for Bernice L. Bigelow, 92, of Rochester,MN will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Tuesday (October 1,  2019) at the Pleasant Grove Church of Christ in Pleasant Grove,MN,  with Rev. Lance Lowrenz officiating. Mrs. Bigelow passed away peacefully,  surrounded by family,  on Friday (September 27, 2019) in her home at Shorewood Senior Living in Rochester.

Bernice Lucille Toogood was born on January 16, 1927 in Pleasant Grove Twsp.,Olmsted County,MN to Merritt and Edith(Zinke) Toogood. She grew up in rural Pleasant Grove and attended the Pleasant Grove Schoolhouse(District 140). She lived and worked on the Toogood Farmstead with her parents. Bernice was married on October 18, 1951 in Fredricksburg,IA to Walter B. Bigelow. Following their marriage the couple farmed in rural Pleasant Grove and eventually built a new house on the Toogood Farmstead, where they raised their girls. Bernice was a homemaker and farmwife and Walter was a  life long dairy farmer. Mr. Bigelow died on October 21, 1970. Bernice continued to live on their farm until moving to Shorewood in 2016. Bernice was a member of Pleasant Grove Church of Christ. She enjoyed gardening, canning , watching and feeding the birds on the farm, word search and jigsaw puzzles and loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Bernice is survived by her daughters – Julie( Ed)  Bailey of Mesa,AZ and Shirley(Loren)  Walter of Rochester; 4 grandchildren – Jennifer ( Brian) Koselke, Chris Bailey(Tricia Graumann), Heather Walter( Jeff Wellik) and Ben(Nicki) Bailey; 9 great-grandchildren –Caleb, Gabriel, Skyler, Alicia, Kayla, Jadien, Julia, Gene and Jack and many nieces and nephews. Bernice was preceded in death by her husband – Walter, her parents, 2 sisters – Dorothy Berg and Avis Lowrie and  3 brothers –Leon, Francis and Dean Toogood.

A time of visitation for family and friends will be held 1 hr. prior to the service at Pleasant Grove Church of Christ on Tuesday morning. Burial will take place at Grandview Memorial Gardens in Rochester.  Condolences and memories of Bernice are welcome at www.griffin-gray.com

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