Bernita D. Dahl, 85, Sauk Rapids (formerly St. Joseph)

November 22, 1936 - December 30, 2021

Memorial Services will be 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 7, 2022 at Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home in St. Cloud for Bernita D. Dahl, 85 of Sauk Rapids who passed away at her home on Thursday. Rev. Zach Hoffman will officiate and entombment will be at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery near Little Falls. Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the funeral home on Friday.

Bernita was born on November 22, 1936 in Dexter, MN to Erwin and Irma (Drews) Stern. She married Vernie C. Dahl, Jr. on January 18, 1957 at Grace Lutheran Church in Austin, MN. The couple lived in Albert Lea and Coon Rapids prior to moving to the St. Cloud area in 1991. Bernita stayed at home to raise her children and once they were of school age, she went to work full time as a dental assistant in Anoka and Coon Rapids. She also worked for Apollo Insurance. Bernita was truly one of a kind. She had the gift of learning someone’s name and their life story and she’d never forget it. Bernita was undoubtedly focused on others before herself. She was selfless, and growing up on a farm instilled the values of working hard and standing by family, no matter what. Bernita enjoyed camping, bowling, fishing, playing dice and card games, and her biggest pastime was being active on social media. She loved spending time with her family, especially on their houseboat on Rush Lake, and you could find her at any extracurricular activity of her children and grandchildren. Bernita was a talented cook, especially baking desserts, like her famous “broken glass dessert”. She was witty, had the gift of gab and always spoke the truth. As her famous saying goes, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. But if you must say it, be accurate.”

Survivors include her children, Karen (Dave) Steinke of Blaine and Vernie, III (Heather) of St. Cloud; sons in law, Steve Larson of Coon Rapids and Arthur Bohm of St. Cloud; grandchildren, Rob and Reed Larson, Kari (Ben) Deggendorf, Ryan (Stevie) Hammond, Randy (Laura) Hammond, Leah (Jason) Ryan, David (Roxanne) Steinke, Mariah Steinke, Jarrid Dahl and Kayla Dahl, and Brett and Brady Jackels; great-grandchildren, Emily and Owen Hammond, Chase and Grace Hammond, Michael Nelson, Joe and Autumn Ryan and Jack and Jeff Deggendorf, Madelyn Steinke, and Colt, Carter and Liberty Jackels; brother, Jim (Marcy) Stern of Omaha, NE; and many nieces, nephews and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; five older siblings, husband Vernie on January 29, 2017; and daughters, Jayme Bohm on December 22, 2019 and Cindy Larson on December 19, 2020.