Bernice Adelle Summers

Bernice Adelle (Scott) Summers, 87, of Lancaster, Ohio, passed away Friday, March 24, 2017. Preceded in death by parents Ervin and Mae Scott; sister Alene Wohler; husband Lemmie "Bunny" Summers, Jr.; and daughter Janice Summers.

Survived by daughter Julie Summers Zaleski and husband Adam of Junction City, Ohio; four grandchildren: Jonathan Carpenter of Junction City, Ohio, Holly Carpenter and Evan Cluggish of Newark, Ohio, Tony Zaleski of Athens, Ohio, Abigail Zaleski Dunton and husband Don of Fort Bragg, North Carolina; one great-grandchild, River Carpenter; and numerous extended family members.

Bernice was born in Deer Lodge, Tennessee on July 16, 1929 to Ervin Eugene Scott and Alice Mae Ryon Scott. She was a member of the Sunbright High School Class of 1947, Sunbright, Tennessee. Bernice came to Dayton in the 1950's. She worked for Ohio Bell as well as Rike's in downtown Dayton as a switchboard operator. She married in 1954, and had two daughters, Janice and Julie. She was a devoted caregiver to her daughter Janice, who was developmentally disabled, as well as her mother Mae, and huband Lemmie in his later years. Bernice and Lemmie were married 48 years until his death in 2002.

Bernice relocated to southeast Ohio in 2008 to live near her daughter. She became a resident of Bickford Assisted Living in Lancaster, Ohio in 2015. The family very much appreciates the compassionate and loving care Bernice received from the wonderful folks of Bickford Assisted Living and FairHope Hospice, both of Lancaster, Ohio. Thank you to our church family at First United Methodist Church, New Lexington, Ohio.

Visitation will be held from 5-7 pm on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 at Newcomer Funeral Home, 4104 Needmore Road, Dayton, Ohio, where the funeral service will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday. Burial to follow at Forest Hills Memorial Gardens. Please consider making a donation in Bernice's name to FairHope Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., 282 Sells Road, Lancaster, Ohio 43130.