Bernice Smith, age 101, died Monday, September 20, 2010, at the White Healthcare Center. Funeral mass will be 10:30 A.M. Friday, September 24, 2010, at St. Pauls Catholic Church in White, with interment in Fairview Cemetery. Visitations will be from 5-7 P.M. Thursday at St. Pauls Catholic Church in White, with a prayer service at 7:00 P.M. at the church. Eidsness Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials should be directed to the Fairview Cemetery Association, St. Pauls Catholic Church, the White Historical Society, or the White Healthcare Center.

Bernice Sylvia (Simmons) Smith was born August 13, 1909, at White, South Dakota, to Ernest L. and Anna M. (Stein) Simmons. She attended country school in Sherman No. 105 and graduated from White High School. She attended General Beadle College in Madison for one year and summer school at South Dakota State College. After graduation she taught in Sherman No. 103 and 106, Toronto Elementary, and the Deubrook Elementary Schools. On October 4, 1931, Bernice married Arnold Smith in Sioux Falls. He died December 23, 1993.

Bernice was a member of St. Pauls Catholic Church in White where she served as chair of the Hospitality Committee. She was also a member of the White Historical Society. She enjoyed crocheting and reading.

Survivors include two sons: Curtis (Trudi) Smith of Summerville, South Carolina, and Douglas (Betty) Smith of Lincoln, Nebraska; son-in-law, Bill Schuster, of Webster, South Dakota; 12 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and a brother, Shirley (Helen) Simmons, of White. She was preceded in death by her husband; two sons, Donald and Duane; a daughter, Kaye Schuster; and a sister, Merle Klith.