Bernadine “Deanie” Pedersen, 97

March 19, 1924 - June 01, 2021

Bernadine “Deanie” Pedersen, age 97, died on 1 June 2021 at 12:40 PM in Masonic Village, Elizabethtown, PA.

Born in Lancaster, PA, she was the daughter of Agnes Dochat Dennis and Isadore W Dennis and is survived by a son and daughter-in-law William and Eileen McNerney Steele, The Villages, FL, and two grandsons David and his wife Angela and two great granddaughters, Makayla Marie and Gianna Marie Steele of Williamsport, PA and James Steele, grandson, of The Villages, FL.

Also surviving are two sisters, Lorraine Dennis of Phoenix, AZ and Sr. Mary Ada of Our Lady of Grace Convent, Notre Dame, IN. There are also several nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was preceded in death by three brothers, Richard, James and Henry W. Dennis.

She graduated from Lancaster Catholic High School in June 1942, shortly after the start of WWII. She went to work at Hamilton watch Company in the Jewel Department, later she was transferred to the Bomb Department, making fuses for bombs during WWII.

On April 4, 1945 she was married to 1st Lt. Charles F. Steele after he returned from his overseas tour of duty serving as a Navigator on the B24 bombers. He flew 35 missions and on his last mission his plane was shot down and they lost 4 men. God saved his life along with 5 other men.

Sunday, June 22nd, 1947 was one of the happiest days of her life. She gave birth to her beautiful son, Bill. What a joy he was at 8 lbs. 14 ½ oz

In 1963 she married Svend Augie Pedersen and moved to Trenton, NJ where she lived for 45 years.

She worked for the State of New Jersey, first in Motor Vehicle for 1 year and was promoted and worked for Motor Carrier Department for 3 ½ years, followed by 16 ½ years at the Department of Transportation (only a 10-minute walk from home) where she worked in the Engineering Department. She retired in 1953 at 69 years old. The year before retirement, she was named as one of the Employees of the Year, which was a great honor.

Her pride and joy were her flower beds, of which she had many in New Jersey. She enjoyed reading, playing pinochle, scrabble, doing word puzzles, ceramics, and going to the casinos in different states

She loved to travel. Almost every year since 1953 she went to see her sister in Arizona, which usually included a trip to Las Vegas for 5 days. That ended in 2003 when it became a little difficult to travel the distance. During those years, she also went to Disneyland and other places in CA with her sisters.

In 1980 she went on a Caribbean Cruise for 10 days with her sister-in-law. She also went on a bus trip to Mt. Snow in Vermont with friends. There were also many other trips.

In 2008 she moved back to Lancaster, PA. Living at Evergreen Estates Retirement Community for 5 ½ years before moving to Masonic Village, Freemason Building in Elizabethtown, PA., where she last resided.

She has many friends in Lancaster and New Jersey.

Mass of Christian Burial will take place 11 AM, Thursday, June 10, 2021, with The Rev. Steven J. Arena as Celebrant, at St Joseph Catholic Church. Burial will be in Conestoga Memorial Park.

The Mass can be viewed through Livestream on this page on Thursday, and anytime in the future.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church, 440 St. Joseph St., Lancaster, PA 17603.