Miss Frances Bernice Pearson, 89, passed away on Monday, November 19, 2018, at Dogwood Cottage at the Winston County Nursing Home in Louisville, MS. A celebration of her life will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Friday, November 23rd, at First Methodist Church, with Rev. Mike Childs officiating. Interment will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be held Friday from 11:00 A.M. until the service time at the church. Porter Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Ms. Pearson was born September 23, 1929 in Houston, MS. She graduated from Louisville High School in 1950 and took accounting classes at various institutions of higher learning including Wood Junior College where she served as historian and a trustee for many years. She was a member of the Pilot Club more than 50 years. She was also a member of the Red Hills Art Association, Mississippi Watercolor Association, Friends of the Library, and many committees within the Methodist Church. She worked as an accountant for many years including Taylor Machine Works, WinCo Dairy, Pet Milk, and Town and Country Furniture.
In 1978 Bernice was named Woman of the Year and in 2004 received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Louisville Chamber of Commerce. She was a member of First Methodist Church, where there was a scholarship established in her name.
Bernice took art lessons and began painting around the age 40 before her retirement from Pet Milk Company, comparing herself to Grandma Moses. She continued painting until the age of 84. She won many awards for her art and was known throughout Louisville and Winston County as a talented artist. Her paintings are cherished and can be found in various homes and places of business throughout Louisville and across the country as far away as California. She said, “In my art I hope to accomplish with paint what Robert Frost did with words. I strive to provoke a pleasant memory, preserve the joy and beauty of my surroundings, and record a place in time for my viewers.”
She was preceded in death by her parents, Grace Valliant Pearson and John Monroe Pearson, Sr.; and two brothers, John Monroe Pearson, Jr. and James Denton Pearson, Sr.
She is survived by her sister-in-law, Sue Mills Pearson; cousins Mariam Ellis, Peggy Taylor, Betty Moor, and Marianne Donahoe; nieces and nephews, Emily Pearson (Ronnie) Ware, Dinah P. (John Thomas) Smith, James Denton (Amy) Pearson II, Mark Mills (Lees) Pearson, and John Franklin (Lynn) Pearson; 12 great nieces and nephews; and 8 great-great nieces and nephews, and a host of friends, including a special friend, George Henry Hughes.
Pallbearers will be Rob N. Eaves, James Denton Pearson, III, Jerry Nance, Paul Simmons, Giles Ward, and Dickie Caperton.
Memorials may be made to Bernice Pearson Scholarship Fund at First Methodist Church, P. O. Box 1426, Louisville, MS 39339.
