Alice "Toni" Bernard

Alice "Toni" Bernard, 78, of Milbank, SD, passed away on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at Avantara in Milbank, SD.

A joint Mass of Christian Burial will be held to honor and celebrate the lives of Alice "Toni" Bernard and her brother, John Bernard, who passed away on February 28, 2020, at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. Services will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Milbank, SD. Fr. Brian Eckrich will officiate. Visitation will be held on Friday, May 9, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m at Mundwiler Funeral Home in Milbank, SD. A prayer vigil will be held at 7:00 p.m. Visitation will continue at the church on Saturday, one hour prior to the Mass. Inurnment will be at St. Lawrence Catholic Cemetery.

The service will be livestreamed, recorded, and viewable at the bottom of this page.

Alice “Toni” Marie Antoinette Bernard grew up on a farm in Woodbury, MN, with her five siblings and often spent time with her close cousins, the Sanzones and Yaegers. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with degrees in French and Native American Studies. During her time at the university, she lived with her future sister-in-law, Barbara Jane “BJ” Revane McGuire, and future cousin-in-law, Joelie Tessari Hicks.

While attending school and for many years after graduation, Toni worked at the University of Minnesota Libraries and Bookstores. She also helped several nieces and nephews learn how to navigate the large campus during this time. She had a deep love for history, particularly Native American and French-American history. This passion led her to work for the Minnesota Historical Society for several years. She also worked at Fort Snelling and participated in the Grand Portage Rendezvous. She enjoyed bringing history to life at both places.

An excellent artist, Toni was well known for her drawings of horses and Native Americans. She lived in Walker, MN, for a few years before returning to Woodbury. After her mother passed away, she and her brother John moved to Milbank.

For many years, Toni lived in the Kaercher family home on Park Avenue, where her mother had been raised. She was active with the Grant County Historical Society and volunteered at the Milbank Historical House, Grant County Historical Museum, Community Thrift Shop, and the Grant County Library.

Toni and John were frequent visitors to the Mill Theatres, where they loved spending time with employees, customers, and their cousins, Rob and Joelie Hicks, who own the theater. Both Toni and John cherished the friendships they made there and enjoyed being involved in the lives of young people in their community.

Toni is survived by her sister, Dorothea Moga; sisters-in-law, Rose McGuire; and Barbara Jane “BJ” McGuire; numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents: Thomas Bernard and Alice Kaercher McGuire Bernard; her brothers: Charles McGuire; Michael McGuire; John Bernard; and her sister, Mary McGuire Edwards.