Berniece Thoreson Trotochaud

Berniece Trotochaud of Decatur died Wednesday, September 26, 2007. Berniece Trotochaud lived a life of faith, family and friends that was instilled in her from the day she was born and defined her through the entirety of her life. She was born January 2, 1924, in Suttons Bay, Michigan, and grew up on a farm near Glen Arbor.  It was there where her mother taught her the value of friends and family through hospitality and generosity and where her father taught her the word of the Bible.   She was a devout Catholic who believed in devotion to the Blessed Mother and the promise that she would share in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. My deepest values, she often said, are family, faith in God, having good friends, and knowing that I came from a good family. She left the farm in 1946 when she married Ed Trotochaud.  Together they were blessed with 11 children, 28 grand children and 6 great grand children. ?Everyone thought I shouldn't, but I was glad to have lots of children, she said.  It was her bountiful love and caring that nourished her family for the 30 years following Ed?s death. Berniece always found great joy in returning home to the farm where she grew up with her brothers Rudy, Kenneth, Leonard and John Thoreson, and her sisters Delina and Sister Karen Thoreson, O.P.  She loved to share stories with friends and family about her childhood on the farm, which is preserved today as part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. She was a fixture at daily Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Atlanta and was known to regularly pick up friends and drive them to services.  She also volunteered at a number of organizations including the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home.  She was affectionately known as ?Grano?, not only to her grandchildren, but to everyone who knew and loved her. ?My greatest wish for the future,she said, is that my children, grand children, and great grand children are safe.  Now they will feel safe knowing that she is watching over them every day. She is preceded in death by her husband Edward Trotochaud and son Tommy Trotochaud.  She is survived by her children:  Terry and Jeanie Trotochaud, Karen Trotochaud and Allen Conroy, Mary Trotochaud and Rick McDowell, Linda and Don Hedges, Joanie Trotochaud, Jim Trotochaud and Robyn Reichling, Tim Trotochaud, Judy Trotochaud and William Pate, Lori and Artie Brown, Susie Trotochaud and Scott Dorfman, and 34 grand children and great grand children.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8pm Thursday, September 27 at A.S. Turner and Sons in Decatur, GA.  Rosary will follow at 8pm.  Funeral Mass will be held at 10 am Friday, September 28 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Atlanta.

Donations may be sent in her name to Birthright, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church or School or St. Pius X High School.