BERNICE DAVIS BALL, slipped away quietly Friday evening, February 25th, after a year-long bout with liver cancer. Born Bernice Merlyn Westlund, the daughter of Bernard and Pauline Westlund on March 4th, 1942 in Duncan, British Columbia, Canada; she was a long-time resident of the Orlean area.
Bernie was raised in the Vancouver, BC area and attended the University of British Columbia through her sophomore year. She accepted an offer to become a United Airline stewardess, and came into the United States. After finishing her training, she chose to be assigned to the Washington, DC area. There she met her first husband, Richard, a pilot for United. They lived in Annandale, where she became both a mother and a housewife, before eventually building their home and farm in the Orlean area. She was a member of Wesley Chapel, our local community Methodist church.
Bernie was a Warrenton area realtor for some twenty years, only recently formally retiring from Olafsen Realty. She was also an avid horse-lover and enjoyed breeding quality warmblood sporthorse foals. She was an active member of the International Sporthorse Registry/Oldenburg of North America (ISR/Oldenburg NA) organization. She looked forward each year to organizing and co-hosting the annual Oldenburg mare and foal inspections with hosts George and Linda Salisbury at their historic Chestnut Lawn Farm near Remington, a tradition which spanned the past thirteen years,.
She is survived by her husband, Larry Ball, her former husband of many years, Richard Davis, her step-son, Christopher Ball and his wife, Christine, their son and her grandson, Drae Ball, and her daughter in-law, Sandra Davis. She was preceded in death by her son and only child, Todd Davis, in 2001.
The family will receive friends Thursday evening, March 3rd, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Moser Funeral Home. A funeral service, also at the Moser Funeral Home, will be held Friday afternoon, March 4th, at 1:00 pm, followed by a brief graveside service at the Bright View Cemetery. Rev. Barbara J. Minter will officiate. A reception will be held following these services at the Wesley Chapel social hall.