Graveside services for Bernice Simpson, 101, of Round Rock, TX and formerly of Greenville will be at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, August 13 at Hollandale Cemetery. A devout Christian and a gentle, gracious Southern lady with a beautiful drawl died on August 8, 2015, in Round Rock, TX.
Mary Bernice Marx was born on November 2, 1913, at home in Hollandale, MS, to Mary Vest Marx and Edwin Winfield Marx. She was a birthday present for her father, being born on his birthday.
She was predeceased by her two husbands, her parents, her younger siblings: Virginia Carr of Memphis, TN; Robert Edwin Marx of Hollandale, MS; and Walter Marx of Houston, TX; an infant grandson, George Thomas Lindsay and son-in-law, Marshall Lindsay.
After graduating from Hollandale Consolidated High School in three years, Bernice attended Grenada College in Grenada, MS, for 2 years then Bowling Green Business College in Bowling Green, KY. She played center on the college basketball team.
Bernice started driving when she was 12. When her youngest brother was born, her mother put Bernice in charge of making desserts for the family. She was 12 at the time.
She married Thomas Albert Heritage and they made their home in various towns in Mississippi and in Birmingham, Alabama, before finally settling in Greenville, Mississippi.
Bernice was a loving mother, an excellent cook and a skilled seamstress. She loved playing and winning at bridge and bingo being very competitive when playing games! She was an avid reader and loved to fish with her friend Myrtis Sandidge. Her remarkable memory amazed people as she shared interesting stories of things she had seen and experienced in her lifetime.
Bernice was a lifelong Methodist and a faithful member of the United Methodist Women’s organization, holding various positions in the UMW.
After the death of her first husband of 31 years in 1967, Bernice married James P. (Jimmy) Simpson of Greenville in 1973. They were married 23 years.
In 1996 she moved to Austin, TX, to make her home with her daughter and son-in-law. She was a member of Crestview UMC in Austin before the family moved to Round Rock and joined First United Methodist Church. She was embraced by congregation members in both churches.
She is survived by her children: Nancy Lindsay, Phoenix, AZ; Betty Jane Holt (Leigh), Round Rock, TX; and Albert Heritage (Carolyn), Magnolia, TX; her stepdaughter, Rachel Norris (Jim), Haughton, LA; her seven grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren who all affectionately called her Grammy and Heggie, loving nieces and nephews, her Austin family and a multitude of friends.
A memorial service will be held at First United Methodist Church, Round Rock, TX, on Friday, August 21st at 11 a.m. Memorial gifts may be made to the United Methodist Women or to First United Methodist Church, Round Rock, TX.