Bernice Laurene Edie Offutt

March 07, 2017 Last Updated: March 07, 2017 11:00 AM Death Notice

Bernice Laurene Edie Offutt, 90, of Zelienople, formerly of Plain Grove, died Monday at UPMC Passavant — McCandless Hospital.

She was born April 20, 1926, in Eastbrook, Pa., the daughter of Robert Neal Edie and Lillian E. Martin Edie. On Aug. 1, 1946, she married Gerald Nathan Offutt, who survives.

She was a graduate of Eastbrook High School and later attended classes at Slippery Rock State Normal School and the State Teachers College at Indiana.

Bernice was a wonderful organist and pianist, and she enjoyed making music her whole life. In years prior, she sang with the Lawrence County Chapter of Sweet Adelines and served as organist at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Grove City as well as other churches in that area.

For 22 years, she owned and operated the Grove City Credit Bureau. She also volunteered her time as a Cub Scout leader and was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Bernice was an avid reader and loved to knit and crochet, creating countless afghans and beautiful cross-stitched quilts. In retirement, she and her husband enjoyed hosting friends and family at their home on Lake Latonka.

Although a member of the Plain Grove Presbyterian Church, she attended services at the Passavant Lutheran Church at the Passavant Retirement Community in Zelienople, where she lived with her husband. There, she was a member of the church choir as well as the Passavant Retirement Community Singers.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her son, Richard Samuel Offutt and his wife, Karen, of Slippery Rock; two daughters, Susan Lorraine Sanata and her husband, Lawrence, of Delaware, Ohio, and Robyn Lynn Keefer and her husband, William Stephen III, of Sewickley; four grandsons, Jordan Nathaniel Offutt and Nathan Maxwell Offutt, both of Pittsburgh, Michael Lawrence Sanata of Vancouver, Wash., and William Stephen Keefer IV and his wife, Linda, of New Castle; and one granddaughter, Allison Lynn Keefer of Sewickley.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her eldest son, Nathan Edie Offutt; and her younger sister, Alma K. Houk.

OFFUTT — Visitation for Bernice Laurene Edie Offutt, who died Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Smith Funeral Home, 421 New Castle St., Slippery Rock.Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home with the Rev. Dr. Stanley Keehlwetter, pastor of the Plain Grove Presbyterian Church, presiding. Interment will follow at the South Plain Grove Cemetery in Plain Grove, Pa.