Obituary of Berenice Black

Berenice Bruner Black, 97, known to friends as “Bunnie” and to family as “Nannie”, passed away Friday, March 24th at Harrogate in Lakewood, NJ. She was predeceased by husband John C. Black and daughter Berenice Ann Black. Born in 1920 in Trenton, NJ to Esther Mount Bruner and Harris Owen Bruner, she lived in Tullytown, PA and moved to Bristol, PA in 1923, where she resided for 52 years. She graduated from Bristol High School and Pierce Business School and worked for Hunter Manufacturing/Fleetwings. She met John C. Black, a lifelong Bristol resident, and they married in 1941. Shortly after, they moved to San Leandro, CA, where John was stationed in the Navy during WWII. She worked as a secretary in a psychiatric hospital for returning soldiers. After the war, they returned to Bristol to run the John C. Black Funeral Home and raise their two daughters. After the untimely deaths of her daughter and husband, she ran the funeral business for two more years before she sold it. She then worked as a secretary at St. Mary’s Hall, Burlington, NJ, where her daughter attended school. She was an active member of the Bristol Presbyterian Church, the Bristol Travel Club and enjoyed sewing. Bunnie developed a love of sailing from days spent on the water with her father, which she passed down to her daughter and grandchildren. Upon retirement, she moved to Surf City, NJ where she had maintained a home since 1956. She spent many summers with friends and family at the beach and on her sailboat. With her second husband, Robert H. Wright, she enjoyed winters traveling to Florida in their Airstream. She spent the last 14 years at Harrogate Senior Living in Lakewood, NJ, where she enjoyed dining nightly with a group of friends nicknamed “the wild bunch”. Friends and family will always remember Bunnie’s strength, kindness, and sense of humor, which remained with her all 97 years. She is survived by daughter Kathryn Black Wright, son-in-law A. John Wright and grandchildren John T. Wright and Brittany A. Wright of Colts Neck, NJ and High Bar Harbor, NJ. The visitation is from 9:30 AM until 11 AM on Wednesday, March 29th, 2017 at the Higgins Memorial Home. The funeral service will follow at 11am. The Reverend Scott Brown will be officiating. The burial will be at the Bristol Cemetery in Bristol, PA. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to the Colts Neck Reformed Church, PO Box 57, Colts Neck, NJ 07722.