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IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Bernice
Akridge
Aug 31, 1930 — Dec 22, 2019
Obituary
Bernice Akridge was born on August 31, 1930 to Charles and Estelle Simmons in Newark, New Jersey. She went home to be with the Lord Jesus Christ on December 22, 2019 from the Park Crescent Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in East Orange, New Jersey. Bernice Akridge was a resident of New Jersey for eighty-nine years.
She attended the public schools of Newark, and graduated from Southside (Malcolm X. Shabazz) High School in 1947. Bernice always had an interest in the healthcare field and received her LPN license. She worked as a Licensed Practical Nurse at the Martland Medical Center Emergency Room of Newark, NJ and retired as a Private Duty LPN in 1988 from Mount Sinai Medical Hospital in New York. Bernice held several occupations working in the community before finally retiring from the workforce in 2004.
Bernice was raised in a seventh-day adventist home when she sincerely fell in love with the Lord Jesus Christ as a child. She exclaimed, "At such a young age, I remember them teaching me about Jesus and how He died for our sins, and I cried and was so happy and thankful for a man who gave His life for the world! I have loved and walked with Him ever since!" In 1965, she renounced the Seventh-Day Adventist Faith and professed the Pentecostal denomination, and was a true witness for the Lord Jesus Christ! She was not afraid to tell strangers of God's goodness and salvation by knocking on doors witnessing, handing out pamphlets on the street corners, letting strangers know that Jesus loved them and the way to salvation, and teaching her family about God.
Bernice being the undisputed Matriarch of the Akridge family with Patriarch Derek Akridge Sr., who was married for sixty years, not only talked the Jesus talk, but she walked the Jesus walk! She treated everyone with love, class, and respect! Even though sometimes she gave it to you "straight with no chaser," she still let you know with her words and deeds that she truly "loved you in the Lord." Bernice also spread her love through her immaculate soulful cooking and baking that no-one could resist and wanted plenty more of! God blessed Bernice's life to be a perfect example of what it means to walk with Christ, to be a godly wife, to be a godly mother, and to be a godly woman.
Bernice leaves to cherish her memories, her husband, Derek Akridge Sr.; Three sons, Roddy Ferdnance (Geneva), Derek T. Akridge Jr., and Preston Akridge III. Daughter, Leah Akridge; Niece, Pam Lindsey, and nephew, Rahim Lindsey. A host of grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her four brothers, Raymond Simmons, Charles Simmons, Phillip Simmons, and George Simmons; three sisters, Doris Groce', Madeline Simmons, and Margarette Simmons; and son Tyrone (Osei) Ferdnance
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Funeral Services
Funeral Service
January
4
Saturday
First Baptist Church
Starts at 1:00 pm
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