Wife and Mother Bernice Turner Co-Founded Turner's Nursery and Greenhouses

With great sadness, we announce the passing of our family’s matriarch, Bernice Turner. Bernice was born in Detroit, Michigan to parents Anna Joanne Biernat and Zygmunt Brainer. She remained in Michigan for her lifetime, graduating from Cooley High School in Detroit, moving to Ann Arbor in 1967, and spending summers in Glen Arbor and Traverse City.

Bernice is survived by her three devoted sons, David (Jan), Christopher (Judy), James (Joanie), her grandchildren Allison (Brandon), Anne (Marcelo), Sara, Emily, James Jr., Madelyn, Haley, and Ava; her great-grandchildren Juliana, Luke, Leo, Theo, and Gabriela, her brother Richard Brainer, and many loving extended family members. She is preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Stanley, her son Matthew, sister Francis Pittel, and brother Hank Brainer.

Bernice lived a life full of family, hard work, and meaning. She met her husband Stanley as a teenager in 1950, and they married in 1955. Together, they founded Turner’s Nursery and Greenhouses in 1967. Botany was in her blood; her parents Zygmunt and Anna owned Brainer Greenhouse in Farmington, MI, and her brother Richard founded Brainer Greenhouse in Wixon, MI. Her four children inherited this trait, going on to own and operate Turner’s Nursery as she and Stanley retired.

Her true love was her family; she dedicated her time to having relationships with her sons and her grandchildren. Having been the mother to four boys, she was elated in her enjoyment of seven granddaughters along with a grandson. She and Stanley proudly promoted education and supported each of their grandchildren in their college pursuits. When her five great-grandchildren were born, she and Stanley fell in love all over again, spending time with each and traveling to see their baptisms.

In retirement, Bernice and Stanley found time to travel the world together. They joined The Nomads and enjoyed trips across the United States and abroad. They took their four oldest grandchildren on the trip of a lifetime to Alaska, including white water rafting and sea plane excursions. On a trip to Poland, Bernice reconnected with her relatives, with whom she continued to communicate with and exchange Christmas cards, even as her ability to read and speak Polish faded with time. When they could no longer travel, they continued to share stories of time spent in Arurba, where Bernice had the best luck at the casino; in Italy, where their tour bus nimbly navigated the winding roads between wineries, and many more adventures.

A woman of faith, Bernice was a lifelong member of the Catholic Church, specifically a member of the Altar Society at Saint Thomas the Apostle Church in Ann Arbor and more recently Saint Andrew the Apostle Church in Saline. She found great joy in helping to decorate the church for Christmas each year, donating poinsettias and holiday décor to bring joy to parishioners. It was this faith that provided comfort as her beloved Stanley passed away in July 2022, and will provide our family peace knowing they are together once again for eternity.

A Mass of the Christian Burial will take place on Monday, December 19, 2022 at 10:30 A.M. at the St. Andrew Catholic Church in Saline, with Fr. John Linden as Celebrant. Friends may join the family for a time of visitation on Sunday, December 18, from 2:00 P.M to 6:00 P.M. at the Robison-Bahnmiller Funeral Home in Saline, and again at the church on Monday from 9:30 A.M. until the time of service at 10:30 A.M. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in her name may be made to Arbor Hospice or to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home and at the church. To leave a memory you have of Bernice, to sign her guestbook or for directions please visit www.rbfhsaline.com.

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