Berniece Marguerite Faulkner

Berniece M. Faulkner, 83, entered into eternal rest on the evening of August 31, 2013 with her daughter and two of her sons by her side. Born Berniece Marguerite Gilbert on March 5, 1930 in Moab, Utah, she was one of 5 children born to the late Walter and Cordelia Squire Gilbert. Berniece married Norman K. Wiggins in 1948 and had two sons, Steven R. Wiggins and Stanton J. Wiggins. She later married the late Warren T. Faulkner and had daughter, Kami D. Faulkner and son, Theodore (Ted) W. Faulkner. She is survived by her daughter, Kami of Beaverton, Oregon; son Steven Wiggins of Payette, Idaho; son, Stanton Wiggins of Filer, Idaho and son, Theodore Faulkner of Clarksville, Tennessee. She is also survived by her brother Carl Gilbert of Nampa, Idaho and sister, Billiee Carlton of Los Angeles, California. Berniece is survived by 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. She is pre-deceased by sister Mary Jane in 1937 and sister Berneta Brown in 2002. Berniece taught herself how to oil paint and became so good she started an oil painting school, “Young at Art” first in Sunnyvale, then moving it to Cupertino, California. The school is still open today and the owner is a former student of Berniece’ s, who carries her legacy forward. She loved music and listened to it while working out in her beloved garden and backyard. She also loved to dance, teaching her children how to dance by placing them on her feet and moving to the music. Berniece loved her family and friends and became the “Nana” of the neighborhood to young and old alike. Many block party BBQs were held at the Faulkner house for various celebrations, family reunions or holidays. Berniece became the PTA President while her children, Kami and Ted went to Cherry Chase School. She was also the troop leader for about 20 Bluebird girls, teaching them all how to sew on one Singer sewing machine! They all went onto model their full outfits during a modeling show that Berniece held in the auditorium at Cherry Chase School. Berniece was innovative in her ideas about how to raise money for a trip to Disneyland that the Bluebirds and chaperones were planning. She even organized a good-sized carnival that was held out in her front yard and street. The fund-raising was a success as was the trip to Disneyland and the Blue Birds grew into Camp Fire Girls and stayed with Berniece as their troop leader through to their Junior year in High school. Berniece also was the talent scout for the local chapter of the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy held every Labor Day weekend. Because of her efforts, the local San Jose, California chapter made a lot of money from people coming to see the acts and bands she booked. In the last 1.5 years of her husband, Warren’s life when he was living at a memory care unit, Berniece was at his side daily, helping not only him, but any resident who needed assistance. She would bring Warren and the other residents healthy treats. Berniece was never about excluding anyone, ever. She made Warren’s life happier and more tolerable for him and the other residents and staff just fell in love with their “Nana.” Berniece, with all modesty was an unstoppable force of nature. Any endeavor she started, she successfully finished to her high standards. Berniece’s Celebration of Life will be at the Faulkner home in Beaverton on Saturday, September 6, 2014 at 11:30 a.m. Service Information