Bernice Lucille Campbell
February 20, 1945 - December 31, 2025
Bernice Lucille Campbell (Thill) was born on February 20, 1945, in the hospital in Rimbey, Alberta, to Alfred and Ila Thill, joining her big sister, Sheila. She enjoyed her visits with her sister, meeting for lunch, and the many family functions—spending time with Sheila, Melody, Lucille, Derek, and Yvonne and their families, and also with the Campbell families. She loved Melody’s updates on Canada hockey, and the gifts from around the world that Melody brought home for her. Melody also took Bernice and the family to Winnipeg for the Women’s World Hockey Championship, and to Edmonton for a Garth Brooks concert—memories Bernice truly cherished. She simply loved being with family.
Bernice grew up on the family farm just outside Rimbey, and it suited her perfectly. She loved the land and especially the animals—you could almost always find her outside in the farmyard, helping with chores, tending to the animals, and pitching in wherever she was needed. Indoor life never held the same appeal; cooking and cleaning were not her favourite pastimes, and her daughters would later joke that, to this day, they still “don’t know how to cook”—but they absolutely inherited her love of animals. Bernice also deeply loved and cherished her dog, Kuda, and she enjoyed babysitting the late Charlie and Kata each day—Jackie and Randy’s beloved dogs—keeping them close and caring for them as only she could.
After high school, Bernice went to nursing school in Calgary and became an LPN. While there, she met Muriel Campbell, and the two roomed together in a basement suite. In 1966, Muriel brought Bernice to Oyen, and it was there that Bernice met Reg Campbell. Bernice began her nursing career at the Coronation Hospital, and she carried genuine pride in her work. One memory she especially cherished was being able to give her niece, Lucille, her very first bath after she was born.
Bernice and Reg “hit it off” right away. They were married in September 1967 in Rimbey, Alberta, and together made their home and built their life in Oyen. They welcomed two daughters: Jacqueline Lynn (born March 1, 1973) and Tammy Dawn (born September 17, 1975). Bernice stepped away from nursing for a couple of years to raise her young family, but her work ethic never dimmed—if anything, it simply showed up in new ways. One summer and fall, she even took her own crew out to help put up Butler grain bins. Between Bernice and Reg, they erected 136 bins that year—some of which can still be seen across the countryside today.
When Bernice returned to the profession she loved, she gave it her all. She worked in the Oyen hospital and extended care for a remarkable 47 years, taking deep pride in caring for others and serving her community. She always said in retirement, she loved and enjoyed her work. Her co-workers and friends have fond memories of mom as a kind soul, sweet, gentle, compassion, hardworking lady, that always had a smile and a giggle, funny, good humour, work-ethic and nursing professionalism was second to none, remembering her great laugh, a great mentor for so many that she worked with at the long-term care.
Family was always at the centre of Bernice’s life, and she treasured time with her daughters—especially the longer visits. Jackie faithfully swung by in the early morning, came for lunch from work each day, and Bernice had Jackie’s lunch made and ready. Jackie also stopped in often after work to visit, chat, and spend time together, making sure her mom had everything she needed. She always enjoyed when Bowen and Alex came for a visit, and she was lucky enough to travel to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for their wedding. Bernice also deeply appreciated Randy—his visits, taking her to appointments in the city, and helping with anything that needed to be done. She trusted Randy’s driving so completely that during an ambulance trip in a snowstorm about a year ago, she even asked the doctor if Randy could drive the ambulance, because she didn’t trust anyone else behind the wheel.
Bernice also felt fortunate to spend six months at a time with Tammy over the years during her stays in Miami, Florida; Nassau, Bahamas; Caribbean cruises; Napa Valley (her most frequent visits); San Francisco; and throughout California—on one trip, Tammy and Bernice even climbed almost all the many hidden, historic, long staircases throughout San Francisco together. In 2019-2020, Bernice traveled down intending to stay for six months, but COVID changed those plans, and she returned after four months. Those visits were filled with one of Bernice’s great joys: going out to eat together. Bernice and Tammy made it a mission to try new places—at one point, their goal was to reach 100 restaurants during the 2019-2020 visit. COVID cut that adventure short to 4 months, but they still made it to 60 restaurants including luxury resorts with views, and Bernice carefully wrote down the name of each restaurant they tried, creating a little record of shared time and memories. When not visiting Tammy, Tammy called two to four times a day to check in, share updates, and tell her what she was doing, chat and to see how her day was going.
One of the first of many California trips over the years was a road trip from San Diego up the Pacific Coast all the way to San Francisco—a classic Bernice kind of adventure, made even better by a stop to soak in natural hot springs hot tubs on the side of a mountain. 2019 In the winter season, they went to Banff National Park together for the first time and lodged at the world famous Banff Fairmont Castle with fine dining.
Bernice also had a gift that her family came to rely on: she was an expert at helping you find what you’d lost—often over the phone. If Tammy couldn’t locate something, all it took was a call, and Bernice would calmly “walk her through it,” step by step, until it turned up. She had a steady way of solving problems, especially when her daughters needed help.
In retirement, Bernice kept her hands and heart busy with the things she loved: crafts, crocheting, paint-by-number, and diamond painting. She was an avid reader. She kept a list of all the books she read, 597 books, with Danielle Steele a favourite. She even taught herself to play the piano, learning on her own with the same quiet determination that defined her life. She was always doing 3 things at once, either her crafts, watching home remodelling shows, reading, playing solitaire, or talking on the phone with one of her daughters.
She also had an amazing stamp collection that she started back in the 1960s and loved learning about where the stamps were from. “What country are you in today, Mom?” was an often-asked question. Bernice enjoyed painting as well—she painted many ornaments that to this day are on the Christmas tree. In her earlier years, she also painted large vases using chalk and she painted and collected Royal Doulton dolls—an amazingly talented woman. She would enjoy painting her and Jackie’s patio furniture and anything Jackie or Randy needed painting at the shop.
In the spring and summer, you would always see her sitting in her white chair working in her yard. She always had a green thumb. She could grow anything. Jackie designed, created and landscaped the entire front and back yard so she could enjoy it every year. They would buy many plants, flowers and trees every year and Jackie would help plant them with mom. Mom enjoyed and looked forward to going to Jackie’s to help with her yard work every year, picking crab apples to make apple crisp for Randy, pulling weeds, picking up leaves. Tammy used to joke she couldn’t see any weeds, yet mom and Jackie would find millions of weeds to pick.
Bernice’s life was marked by love, grit, humour, devotion to family, and a long career of caring for others. She will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered.
Family and Pallbearers
Bernice was predeceased by her parents, Alfred and Ila Thill; her husband, Reg Campbell; brothers-in-law Jim Davidson, Bill Campbell, Denis Vold, Jim Campbell, and Glen Knaus; and sister-in-law Virginia Campbell.
She is survived by her daughters Jackie (Randy) Lee and Tammy (George) Campbell; her grandson Bowen (Alex) Lee; her sister Sheila Davidson; nieces Melody (Mel) Davidson, Lucille (Sheldon) Hertz and family, and Yvonne (Ray) Honnovich and family; nephew Derek (Terry) Davidson and family; and extended family and dear friends, including Marion Jacobs and family; Muriel and Joe Sevcik and family; Frank and Alice Campbell; Sylvia Vold and family; Louise Campbell and family; and Pat Knaus and family, along with cousins and great friends.
Pallbearers were Randy Lee, Bowen Lee, Sheldon Hertz, Derek Davidson, Nelson Hertz, and Travis Foot.