Lorna E. Bedard

Bedard, Lorna E., 95, died peacefully on July 19, 2020.

Born in Wisconsin, as a young woman of 18, Lorna travelled by train to Langley Army Air Force base in Virginia with Fran Bedard’s mother to marry him prior to his bomber squadron’s deployment to the North African front in 1943 during World War II. The military chaplain who married them told them it would not work. “Yet she persisted!” This is another reason they are called the “Greatest Generation”.

In 1950, her husband, Fran, was recalled to active duty with the U.S. Air Force for the Korean Conflict, as a Senior Noncommissioned Officer. They moved from Wisconsin to his duty station in Florida. In 1952, Fran was reassigned to Alaska. They, with their two children, Paul and Francine (Fran), moved (towed) their house trailer from Florida to Alaska over the gravel roads, called the ALCAN highway, through Canada in snow and ice and mountain passes to Anchorage, Alaska, where he was to be stationed and their family lived for four years, and where their third child, Steve, was born. Returning stateside in 1956 before Alaska was a state, they settled in Greenville, SC, had a house built there, and still consider Greenville to be their hometown.

They raised Paul, Fran, and Steve at various Air Force bases from Florida, to Alaska, South Carolina, and Guam where Fran served. They returned in 1965 to Greenville where Lorna managed the household while Fran completed his final two years of military service in Mississippi prior to retirement in Greenville.

After their children moved on to live independent lives in the military and teaching fields, their Greenville friends continued to visit Lorna and Fran to spend time with them, as they had always felt welcomed by this “adoptive mom and dad”. Lorna’s husband, Fran, died in 2002.

Lorna was a proud grandma of six grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren, taking great joy in visiting them whether it be in North Carolina, Colorado, Virginia or Germany, celebrating life with them and they with her in Greenville, and most recently at The Oaks Nursing Home in Marshallville, Georgia.

The family wishes to thank the staff of The Oaks for their wonderful care and love they provided Lorna, especially during her final days. The family would like to note that their proactive and expert care and policies prevented COVID-19 infections of their residents.

It was Lorna’s request that her body be cremated, and a memorial service be held when it is safe and convenient for the family to gather and participate. She wants her ashes to be spread at the spot in the military cemetery where her husband Fran’s ashes were distributed.

“Their Love Leaves an Indelible Imprint” – Leo Buscaglia

“I know for certain that we never lose the people we love, even in death.

They continue to participate in every act, thought, and decision we make.

Their love leaves an indelible imprint in our memories.

We find comfort in knowing that our lives have been enriched by having shared their love.”

For donations or contributions, Lorna would recommend local organizations who provide health services to help sustain these essential workers, or The Oaks Nursing Home in Marshallville, Georgia.

McCullough Funeral Home and Crematory has the privilege of being entrusted with these arrangements.