Sr. Bernice Marie Berichon, RSM, entered eternal life March 22 at McAuley Life Center. She was 98 and a Sister of Mercy for 79 years.

She was born Sept. 26, 1918, to Wilfred and Wilhelmina (Kittle) Berichon in Muskegon and joined the Sisters of Mercy in 1938. On Aug. 16, 1944, she made perpetual vows.

For nearly 30 years, Sr. Berichon taught primary grades in Catholic schools throughout Michigan, including in Lansing, Remus, Bay City, Hazel Park, Howell, Grand Rapids, Berkley and Detroit. Former students will remember her as Sr. Mary Agnella.

She became director of religious education at St. Patrick Parish in Grand Haven, later transitioning to pastoral ministry and in volunteer roles serving the poor, elderly and those with special needs. When she left Grand Haven and moved to McAuley Center in 2001, the parish and the Salvation Army co-sponsored a program that turned the former convent into an emergency shelter for homeless women and their children.

Funeral services were celebrated March 28 at McAuley Life Center in Farmington, with burial in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield. She is survived by cousins, friends and the Sisters of Mercy.