Mary Patricia Bernard

December 28, 1934 - May 10, 2025

Mary Patricia, "Pat" or "Patsy" Bernard was born in Boston in 1934 to Irish immigrants Mary (Cunningham) and Edward Dervan. She grew up in West Roxbury, was a member of St. Theresa's Catholic Parish, and graduated in 1952 from St. Thomas Aquinas High School where she was a conscientious student and a cheerleader. She worked as a professional secretary and married her sweetheart Philip A. Bernard in 1957. Their happy marriage lasted until his death in 2005. They lived for many wonderful years in Roslindale, Raynham, Mattapoisett, Fairhaven and Georgetown, SC, and treasured each community and the lifelong friends they made along the way.

Besides her husband Phil, she was predeceased by her parents, and her sister Anne Doherty. She is survived by three dear siblings Jane Dever, Rita Meunier and Eddie Dervan. She leaves her loving children PJ (Becky) Bernard, Janine (Fred) Peccini, Stephen (Angela) Bernard, and Regina (Jim) Sisk, and the six joys of her life who knew her as "Mamie"- her grandchildren Jonathan, Kevin, Annie, Lindsay, Colleen and Molly. She is also survived by throngs of adoring nieces and nephews, many of whom were her special Godchildren.

While Pat didn't receive a formal education after high school - she was self taught, well read and devoured books focusing on art, culture and history. She was a student of early American times, and was a contributing member of the Mattapoisett Historical Society, researching and documenting much of the Hammond family archives and their impact on the area. She enjoyed working at Plimoth Plantation and volunteering as a member of the Georgetown Maritime Museum in SC. She was later drawn to study the South Carolina lowcountry, and learned much about the culturally significant marsh communities of the Gullah/Geechee people after wandering down hidden dirt roads while collecting information for the US Census Bureau. She was an avid collector of antiques and valued living almost twenty years of her life in the historic early 1700's Capt. Jabez Hammond home in Mattapoisett, where she was a very proud owner-steward.

She was an art historian, appreciator, and a talented watercolor painter herself - mostly of natural landscape subjects including the local saltmarshes and her own carefully tended coastal flowers. She was an exceptional gardener, and knew exactly where to throw her egg shells, banana peels and coffee grinds. Pat loved cheering on her favorite sports teams including the Celtics and the New England Patriots, and had an ultimate devotion to the Boston Red Sox, where she stayed up very late during the summer to watch extra innings when everyone else had long gone to bed.

She was a fierce advocate for kindness and assisting the downtrodden. She served as a delegate to the Massachusetts State Democratic Party and helped to establish union representation for the aides and administrative staff while working at the Old Rochester Regional School district. All the kids who swung by her desk at ORRJHS kept her motivated - and she loved each of them, particularly the "rascals". Pat supported Voice of the Faithful and would be delighted at the recent appointment of Pope Leo XIV.

Pat loved to travel and some of her favorite adventures included her trips to Ireland with her sisters, a canal cruise through England and Wales with PJ and Becky, an extended drive across the USA with Phil, and finally her 80th birthday Mediterranean Cruise extravaganza with her dear friend Dolores.

Put simply, Pat lit up most when surrounded by the people she loved - her cherished friends including her Pleasantfield pals, her Wickie Wacky ladies, and her adoring extended family, of whom she was so proud. She was a gracious and fun host, and will be remembered for her laugh, entertaining her friends and family, and playing the piano for their gregarious sing-a-longs. She enjoyed a cold beer and a stuffie, made from the quahogs which Phil mined on the regular from the Nasketucket mud. She was a patron of the Buzzards Bay Coalition, and was a member of both the Belle Isle and Knollmere Beach Yacht Clubs, and proudly served as a social crewmate whenever possible. Pat and Phil will fondly be remembered sitting on the porch together with their morning coffees, staring out at the Little Bay vista for hours with deep gratitude for their many blessings. Her people and all the above mentioned life's gifts truly "made her heart sing".

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Anthony's Parish in Mattapoisett on June 19, 2025 at 10:00 AM. Burial will be private as she chose to make an anatomical gift and is headed to Harvard Medical School at the age of 90, finally making it to university after all. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Pat's memory to the Charleston Preservation Society or simply make a small gesture of kindness, even just by sharing a warm smile.

Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6), Mattapoisett.  Please visit https://www.saundersdwyer.com/ for further details.