Bernadine Frances Spallas

Bernadine Frances Spallas, 97, of Chandler, Arizona, passed away October 24, 2024.

Bernadine Frances Yellen was born February 19, 1927, in Plymouth, Wisconsin. She was the daughter of Slovenian immigrants Franc and Ivana Tajnikar Yellen. She was the youngest of her siblings, Frank, Zita, Louis, Rudy, and Adeline. Growing up during the Great Depression, she knew the importance of the things that mattered most in life, loving others (and also saving the last tablespoon of leftovers).

Bernadine graduated Plymouth High School in 1944, and Columbia Hospital School of Nursing in 1948. She served in the Cadet Nurse Corps, a program that trained nurses during World War II to help with the nursing shortage. 

She married Nichlas Spallas on January 21, 1950, and they had three children, Helen, Leonidas, and Nichlas. They raised their family in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Bernadine, also known as Bernie or Bunny to her friends and family, lived a life of service to others. Working as a registered nurse allowed her to care for many, from new mothers and babies in the labor and delivery unit to the retired at long-term care facilities. After working long past retirement age, she moved to Arizona. Bernie was a devout Catholic and member of St. Stephen's Catholic Church. Her passion for caring for others overflowed beyond her work as a nurse and into the lives of her family and community. She was a volunteer for the Marthas, where she crocheted bed mats for the homeless and caps for NICU babies. She was a member of the Sew-What Quilters at her Solera community, the Canasta Club, the Red Hats, and served as an Ambassador at Brookdale Chandler Regional, the assisted living facility where she lived in her final few years of life. 

Bernie was an avid reader, loved playing cards (hand and foot) and board games (always winning at Scrabble), and enjoyed the theater. While she would never claim the title, she was a talented artist who painted. 

More than anything, Bernie loved her family deeply, and she created a warm and loving home. She was their biggest cheerleader and encourager. She was known for her delicious cooking and baking (nobody will forget her monster cookies and buttermilk brownies), and everyone left her house full and content with food and her love! She filled her grandchildren's childhoods with memories of being loved and spoiled. If you were sick, you knew you would have a bowl of homemade chicken rice soup. And every night, she would help you fall asleep by giving you "soothies" with the softest hands. She loved writing and receiving letters, and when the internet came about, she learned to email and use Facebook to keep updated on everyone's lives. 

Bernadine was ready to meet her Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, and went into His loving arms on October 24, 2024. She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings, husband, and grandson, Liam Spallas. She leaves behind her children, Helen Spallas, Lee Spallas, and Nic (Chris) Spallas; her grandchildren, Jaime (Jeremy) Toppe, Rebecca (Michael) Riker, Matthew (Rebecca) Soppa, Alexander Young, Jordan Spallas, Hunter Spallas, Nichlas Spallas, Hannah Spallas, Andrew Spallas, and Sarah Spallas; and six great-grandchildren, Lucas Toppe, Landon Toppe, Nathan Riker, Madelyn Frances Riker, Khaya Young, and Abel Soppa, as well as several nieces and nephews. 

Bernadine Frances Yellen Spallas was laid to rest at the Chapel of the Risen Christ Mausoleum at Calvary Cemetery in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. 

Bernie lived a life filled with changes during her 97 years on Earth. The one thing that never changed was her love for God and her family. She will never be forgotten.