Berneice Pearl Ratcliffe

Berneice Pearl Ratcliffe of New Castle, Indiana and formerly of Lake Worth, Florida died at 6:35 a.m. on Monday, April 9, 2018 in New Castle, Indiana. Born July 12, 1926 in Renfro, Oklahoma, she was the daughter of the late Albert Jefferson and Capitola Fay Sheldon Corzine. She grew up on a farm near Caldwell, Kansas, the middle child, with a brother three years older and a sister eight years younger.

After graduating from high school, Berneice bought a bus ticket and moved to Oklahoma City. There she found work as a bookkeeper at the First National Bank. She attended the Wesleyan Methodist Church where she met Ivan E. Ratcliffe. They were married on Sunday, August 3, 1947 at 2:00p.m.

In August of 1960, Ivan and Berneice moved to Greenville, Illinois with their three children and Ivan began teaching at Greenville College. In 1965, Berneice gave birth to their fourth child. Upon Ivan’s retirement, they moved to Miami, Florida, where they became members of the Princeton Church of the Nazarene. Soon after Ivan’s death on February 19, 2001, Berneice moved to New Castle, Indiana.

Surviving is a sister, Joan Steers of Wichita, Kansas; four children, Don Ratcliffe and wife, Kathi, of Lafayette, Indiana, Carol Kelly and husband, Dennis, of Boca Raton, Florida, Barbara Ratcliffe of Batesville, Indiana, and Arthur Ratcliffe and wife, Trish, of Carmel, Indiana.

She is also survived by seven grandchildren, James Ratcliffe, Susan Ely, Christopher Kelly, Elisabeth Hamlin, Sean Kelly, Tyler Ratcliffe, and Dalton Ratcliffe; and three great-grandchildren.

Berneice was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her brother, Sylvester Corzine.

Friends and family may attend memorial services at 11:00 a.m. Saturday April 14, 2018 at Hinsey-Brown Funeral Service, 3406 South Memorial Drive, New Castle, Indiana. Burial will take place at a later date in Pine Crest Cemetery in Lake Worth, Florida. Visitation will be from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Saturday, prior to the service. You may express condolences or share a memory of Berneice at www.hinsey-brown.com .