BERNADINE T. KMETZ

Of Silver Spring, Md., and formerly of Nanticoke, Pa., died peacefully on Saturday, October 3, 2015 in hospice care at her home. Born on February 10, 1925 in Nanticoke, she was the eighth child of Patrick and Elizabeth Brown McMahon. She attended St. Francis Elementary School. After graduating from Nanticoke High School, Bernadine worked as a beautician in nearby Wilkes-Barre and then as a telephone operator for Bell Telephone in Nanticoke. She connected callers with each other first by asking “Number please.” Bernadine married James F. Kmetz, also of Nanticoke, on Sept. 1, 1951. Their daughter, Deborah, was born in 1953. Several years later, when James took a job with the United Mine Workers, the family moved to Wheaton, Md. They had three more children: Suzanne, James and John. They were one of the original families of St. Andrew Apostle Catholic Church in Silver Spring. For many years Bernadine devoted herself to homemaking and excelled at cooking, and especially at creating a place of warmth and simple beauty in the home. She also had a special talent for celebrating holidays and marking occasions. After raising four children, Bernadine started a new career in her fifties, working in the cafeteria at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Wheaton. She greatly enjoyed her 27 years with her kitchen co-workers and the time she spent sharing her kindness and sense of humor with hundreds of students and school staff. She retired in 2006 at age 81. She was preceded in death by her husband James, daughter Suzanne, three brothers, William, Daniel and Patrick and four sisters, Margaret, Helen, Elizabeth and Marie. Surviving are her children, Deborah E. Kmetz, Madison, Wi.; James F. Kmetz and his wife Melanie, Silver Spring, Md.; and John T. Kmetz and his wife Susan, Monrovia, Md. She is also survived by five grandchildren, John Thomas (J.T.), Robert, Colton, Suzanne, and James, and one great-grandchild, Thomas. There will be a Funeral Mass on Saturday, October 10 at 10 a.m. at St. Andrew Apostle Church in Silver Spring, preceded by a Visitation beginning at 9:40 a.m. in the church. Burial will be at St. Francis Cemetery in Nanticoke, Pa. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Little Sisters of the Poor, who care for the indigent elderly, 4200 Harewood Rd., NE, Washington, D.C. 20017 or to S.O.M.E. (So Others Might Eat), who help the homeless, 71 O St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20001