Her Journey
Bernadine, affectionately called Bern-dine or Bern by some family members, transitioned from labor to reward on Tuesday March 7, 2023. Her belief in God and His will being done never wavered! Her faith was phenomenal! We wanted her to stay with us, but God wanted her more.
She was the fourth child of Mrs. Rona V. Collins Mitchell and Mr. David Mitchell Sr. Bernadine was a Norfolk native, who was also the fourth grandchild of Mrs. Elnora Collins Emmanuel, one of the original 220 African American workers through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), who contributed to the beauty of the Norfolk Botanical Garden.
Bernadine attended Jacox Junior High School and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. She was a member of First Church of Christ Holiness USA, Norfolk, VA. Bernadine started working at Norfolk General Hospital in 1967 and retired in Medical Records from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital after forty-two years of employment.
As a person who loved to help others and participate in functions or organizations when the opportunity presented itself, Bernadine was involved in various activities. At a young age, she helped her mom with her younger siblings; she helped her grandmother with cooking and baking, thus becoming the one we depended on for hot cross buns every Good Friday and sweet potato biscuits when the spirit of her mom and grandmother moved her. As a youth, she was a member of the Twix Teen S. and S. club; she was a Notary Public, and a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. She was involved in events at SNGH; Bernadine was an active member in First Church as a member of Usher Board #2, United Christian Women Ministry (UCWM), the Senior Choir, and Church Beautification. If being a wonderful and engaging older sister was a title, she was that too. She had unconditional love for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, she was the matriarch of perhaps the most important organization of all, The Bernadine R. Marshall Family Organization.
She was preceded in death by her daughter, Sebrena Monique Mitchell, her parents, Rona Collins Mitchell and David Mitchell, Sr., her grandmother, Elnora Collins-Emmanuel, her uncle, Elijah Collins, five brothers, Herman E. Mitchell (Jeanette), David Mitchell Jr., Moses N. Mitchell, Daniel E. Mitchell (Eulynda), Maurice C. Mitchell, and one sister, Audrey M. Shands.
Blessed to cherish her memory are her sons, Donald Mitchell (Pamela), Ronald Mitchell (Lisa), and Trent Mitchell (Pypatchia), her granddaughters, Kanisha Mitchell, Deshawna Goodman, Erica Lawson, Latasha Scott (Johnathan), Tamekia Sanders (Christerfer), Aaliyah Mitchell, Erica Wright (Joseph II), Stephanie Kilgore,
and Tiffany Kilgore, her grandsons, Jovan Mitchell, Treyvon Mitchell, Ronald Kilgore (Monica) Trent Mitchell (Latasha) and Troy Porter, her great-granddaughters, Paris Sanders, Skylar Mitchell, Ariyah Mitchell, Lakaiya Hassell, Jushe’e Porter, Layla Blow, and Aaliyah Bailey, her great- grandsons, Dontavious Whitaker, Elijah Williams, Edric Williams, Tremayne Mitchell, Amir Mitchell, Jace Brabble, Joseph Wright III, Ezriel Wright, Erik Wright, La’Monte Mitchell, Maxwell Scott, Benjamin Scott, and Troy Porter, her youngest sister, Linda D. Mitchell, her beloved oldest niece, Carla Hamlin, her best friend, Geneva Elliott, and a host of very dear nieces, nephews, family members, and friends.