Lakewood, NY – Gayle Marie Bernard, 85, passed away on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at Chautauqua Hospice & Palliative Care in Lakewood, NY. She was born June 5, 1937, in Wellsville, NY the daughter of the late Glenn and Mildred (Etsler) Hazzard. On June 1, 1963, she married Eugene “Gene” Barnard who predeceased her on January 25, 1979.
Gayle was a graduate of the Immaculate Conception School, Wellsville High School, and Mercy Hospital, School of Nursing in South Buffalo. She was employed as a registered nurse at Jones Memorial Hospital for 30 years, retiring in 1999. She worked in the operating room, the emergency room, outpatient surgery and lastly in the oncology clinic associated with the University of Rochester.
She was a member of St. Joseph’s Church in Scio where she served on the parish council, was a member of the Altar Society, and taught Church School. She was a volunteer for the Office for the Aging Meals on Wheels and the Allegany County Blind Association. She was a devoted Buffalo Bills fan; often taking grandkids and others to the Bills training camps in the summer. She loved dogs of all types, enjoyed yard work, walking her dogs, reading and crossword puzzles. Following her retirement, she was always willing and happy to help out with the elderly or sick. She enjoyed playing games and spending time with neighbors and family. She especially enjoyed the regular get-togethers with her treasured nursing colleagues.
She is survived by three daughters; Elizabeth and her husband Gerard Linnecke of Ashville, NY, Susan and her husband Dr. Darrell Singer of Rockville, MD, and Sheila and her husband Dr. Jeremy Hilburn of Wilmington, NC, seven grandchildren; Christine, and her husband Patrick Maloney, Cortney and her husband Tyler Beaton, Ryan Linnecke, Daniel Singer, Sean Singer, Haley Hilburn, and Evan Hilburn, a great-granddaughter, Lucy Mae Maloney, as well as several beloved nieces and nephews. She was predeceased in addition to her parents and husband by two sisters, Sally Day and Carole Carlin, and many dogs throughout her lifetime.
Friends are invited to a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 11:00 am in the Immaculate Conception Church, 36 Maple Avenue in Wellsville. Burial will be in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Scio. Please consider memorial donations to the SPCA Serving Allegany County or the American Cancer Society. To leave online condolences, please visit www.embserfuneralhome.com.
