April 27, 1938 ~ Nov. 25, 2016
Bernadine “Bon” Frank James, member of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California passed away peacefully in the presence of family at Carson Tahoe Hospital on November 25, 2016 due to health complications.
Bernadine was born on April 27, 1938 in Dresslerville, Nevada, and is the granddaughter of Clara Holbrook Frank & Senna Frank and daughter of Teena Frank Wyatt. She was married to Delbert “Sock” James for thirty-two years
until his death in 1988.
Bernadine attended Stewart Indian School and graduated in 1956. She worked at the Stewart Indian School from 1971 until the school closed in 1980. She then worked for Washoe Tribal Enterprises and later as an Assistant Language Instructor for the Washiw Wagayay Mangal in Dresslerville, a private school created to revitalize the Tribe’s native language. Mrs. James dedicated her time to the preservation of cultural traditions for the Tribe.
She is survived by her sisters Eleanor Smokey, Kay Simpson, Julie Barr, Denise Pitts, and brother Art Selman of Dresslerville. Bernadine is also survived by her six children: Clara Williams, Phillip James, Karen James, Sharon James-Tiger, Christopher James, and Gloria James, 12 grandchildren, and 28 great-grandchildren.
She loved her family and was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend to many.
Memorial services for Bernadine will be held on Friday, December 2, 2016 at 11:00am at the Stewart Indian School Chapel located at 5366 Snyder Avenue, Carson City, NV.
She touched many lives and will be remembered through the times we shared with her.