HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. – Bernice Jane Milligan Urbanski, 91, of 103 Eventide Drive, Hendersonville, Tenn., died at her residence peacefully on Monday, June 9, 2025, which was her three-year-old great granddaughter, Reese Marigold Jane Lee’s birthday. Reese Marigold Jane carries her great-grandmother’s middle name.
She was born on Sept. 7, 1933 in West Decatur, the daughter of Forrest Earl Milligan and Lela Elizabeth Maines Milligan. Her brother, Forrest (Cub) Milligan was born three years later.
At 17, she married James A. Urbanski from Munson, and they made their home in Emporium, where they were members of the First Baptist Church.
She was a stay-at-home mother for her three children: Mary, Daniel and Stephen. She was a very active farmer’s wife, gardening, canning, freezing and dehydrating fruits and vegetables and helping her husband raise many animals along with their children.
As her children grew, she decided to continue her education and became a Licensed Practical Nurse. Starting first as a private duty nurse for the elderly in Emporium, she later worked for many years with Allen Blackburn, DDS in Emporium, as a dental assistant. Many people enjoyed having “Bernie” there when they had dental work. After that, she worked as head night nurse at the Guy and Mary Felt Manor before moving in 1984 to Hendersonville, Tenn. to work as a private duty nurse for the elderly in their homes.
Bernice loved her new life in Hendersonville, Tenn. and enjoyed the warmer climate, the country music and her new church home at Hendersonville, the First Baptist Church, where she realized a life-long dream of going to the Holy Land with a church group. She was active in the Sign Language Choir for the deaf where she signed American Sign Language for the choir lyrics. Her Sunday School group also kept her active, enjoying many activities in the south from good southern cooking to Riverboat excursions. She made good friends, who often enjoyed her delicious homemade bread.
As she aged, Bernice wanted nothing more than to stay in her beloved Hendersonville home near the lake, where she managed as much as possible to enjoy her magnificent Christmas cactus plants and her outdoor flower gardens. In recent weeks she said that she was “ready to go to Jesus, my Lord and Savior,” and that she was tired of this world. God granted her that prayer.
Surviving Bernice are daughter, Mary Urbanski Lee and son-in-law, Reese A. Lee, Munson; son, Daniel J. Urbanski, Camarillo, Calif.; son, Stephen J. Urbanski, Pittsburgh; grandson, Justin R. Lee and spouse, Sherlyn Lee, Gibsonia; great-grandchildren, James Jacob and David Reese Lee; grandson, Brian J. Lee and spouse, Megan Lee, Guilford, Conn.; great-grandchildren: Cora Philomena and Reese Marigold Jane Lee; sister-in-law, Sandra Milligan of Texas; nieces, Lorraine Evans and Rhonda Kolar, both of Texas; many great nieces and great nephews, most of which are in Texas.
She is preceded in death by parents, Forrest and Lela Milligan; brother, Forrest (Cub) Milligan; husband, James A. Urbanski.
Always a person that enjoyed simplicity, Bernice requested an unpretentious graveside service to be held at Reidy Cemetery in Wallaceton on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at 1 p.m., where she will be interred next to her husband and parents. Officiating at the internment will be Reese A. Lee, her son-in-law.
Memorial contributions in her honor may be made to the charity of the donors choice.
Strange and Weaver Funeral Home of Morrisdale will be entrusted with arrangements. Online condolences may be made at the Strange and Weaver Funeral Home website, or mailed to: The Bernice Urbanski Family c/o Mary Lee, 1661 Hardscrabble Road, Munson, PA 16860.
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