Bernice Widener Yonce

NEW ELLENTON, SC - MRS. BERNICE WIDENER YONCE, 87 of New Ellenton, SC went to be with the Lord on Friday morning, December 19, 2014. Funeral services will be held at Green Pond Baptist Church with Dr. Roy Morgan officiating at 3:00 PM on Sunday, December 21. Interment will follow in Green Pond Baptist Church cemetery. A native of New Ellenton, SC Mrs. Yonce lived in New Ellenton area all of her life and was a member of Green Pond Baptist Church. She was the wife of Pastor Grady W. Yonce, Sr and a former Sunday school and training union teacher. Mrs. Yonces’ occupation was housewife and mother, which to many may not seem like much, but to her family it was everything. She was a helpmeet to her husband as he served as pastor and also worked along beside him in the family business Yonce Feed and Seed. She raised her sons to love the Lord and shared what little she had with anyone in need. She shared her faith with all those she came in contact with and cared for the sick, fed the hungry, visited those in prison and loved and cared for her family. Her greatest desire was for her family to “Love the Lord, live right, laugh a lot and love each other.” Her legacy was the example she set for us. She lived with very little but shared what she had with many. She opened her home and was gracious to all. She was very frugal and never complained about what she didn’t have, but instead gave thanks for what she did have. We can all learn a lesson from her life. Mrs. Yonce was preceded in death by her parents, Rhett and Minnie Lee Widener, her husband, Pastor Grady W. Yonce, Sr, her siblings, Essie Lee Boyd, Inez Waddell, Tommy Widener, and Shelby Jean Webb and one great grandchild Brandi. Survivors include her sons, Grady W. (Beth) Yonce, Jr of New Ellenton, SC and Harry M. (Susie) Yonce of Albany, GA., sisters, Lorenia Walker, Irma Keenan, Eunice (Julian) Thigpen, Marie McKinney, 9 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren and 5 great great grandchildren. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at Green Pond Baptist Church. Those desiring may make memorials to Green Pond Baptist Church. SHELLHOUSE – RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Bernice Widener Yonce, please visit our flower store.