Obituary of Bernadette Mary Dicks

Bernadette Mary (Zweber) Dicks

Bernie, age 89, of St. Paul, passed away December 21, 2023. Preceded in death by her loving husband Jerome (Jerry) P. Dicks on May 20, 1983; parents - Medardus B. and Evelyn G. Zweber; brothers - Fr. Clement J. Zweber, Medardus F. Zweber, Fr. Benedict A. Zweber, John H. Zweber; sisters - Magdalen A. Zweber, Mary T. Zweber, Sr. Pauline Zweber. Bernie and Jerry were the coolest parents in their neighborhood. Bernie was a registered nurse working every other weekend, and a full-time mom. She made the family home magical during the holidays with her endless artistic skills of drawing, painting, and all types of crafts (her first knitting project was a sweater). She cut everyone’s hair including her own and we all looked great. She repainted and retiled the kitchen by herself, fit the shag carpeting to the living room (who needs all that stapling down when you can cut it to fit perfectly), cooked the best chicken and egg dumpling soup, had the flakiest homemade pie crusts, and of course we enjoyed fresh tomatoes from her garden. During Jerry’s 8-year battle with cancer Bernie worked full-time as the head ER night nurse at Midway Hospital in St. Paul. She remained a nurse all her working life, transitioning from the role of head nurse in hospitals to head nurse in nursing homes. She was generous, shy and loving. She is survived by sons - Cynan (Corwin) Joseph M. Benedikt and Jerome J. Adams; daughters - Susan (Sue) B.D. Vital and Carol (Cari) R. Dicks; 3 grandchildren and 3 step grandchildren; and sister Helen M. Zweber and brother Dominic C. Zweber. Visitation and funeral at 10 a.m., Dec. 29 at Willwerscheid Funeral Home, 1167 Grand Ave., St. Paul. Interment at 12:30 p.m. at Fort Snelling Cemetery. Memorials preferred to charities that support research of dementia or cancer.