Edwin Young Bernard

Edwin Young Bernard, age 90, a faithful servant of God, left this earth and was received into the arms of his Savior Jesus Christ on Monday March 16, 2026.

Ed was born in Braddock Hills, PA on January 30, 1936, to the late Harry and Margaret (Thomas) Bernard and was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, Gwendolyn Kennedy, Donald Bernard, and Theodore Bernard.

At age 19, he entered the Army and was trained at the Army Language School in Monterey CA, studying the Czechoslovak Language followed by military service overseas.

Ed graduated from Nyack College in Nyack, New York with a Bachelor of Science in Bible and Theology. Later he earned a Master of Arts in Cross-Cultural Communication from Wheaton College. He also earned a Doctor of Missiology from Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois.

On February 26, 1965, he was united in marriage with Susan E. Miller, whom he met while attending Nyack College, in Sukarnapura, Irian Jaya, Indonesia, sharing 61 years of dedication to each other.

Following their calling in Mark 16:15 “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’, the two served 20 years in Papua, Indonesia to stone-age tribal people. Later due to unrest in Papua, Ed opened the mission work along the coast where he started a Bible School. Ten years later, 34 churches had been established with trained national pastors serving.

After transitioning to the United States, Ed planted a thriving church in Bartlett, Illinois followed by 18 years of teaching missions at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and after retirement continued teaching online classes. While teaching at Moody, Ed also served as part time pastor at Galilee Baptist Church in Chicago and Fellowship Chapel in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

In 2020, Ed and his wife moved to South Bend, Indiana and have been an integral part of Community Baptist Church. Ed served on the deacon board for the past 2 ½ years.  

Ed’s legacy of faith will be passed on because he was blessed with 4 children: Melanie (Brian) Sinclair, Stephanie (Brian) Karlik, Annette (Erik) Stanley, and Brent (Ann) Bernard as well as 17 grandchildren (Tiffany Nevill, Tyler Sinclair, Travis Sinclair, Tara Sinclair, Lissy Suminski, Sarah Karlik, Nathan Karlik, Grace Helmuth, Joshua Stanley, Jonathan Stanley, Emma Stanley, DeAndre Grieshaber, Megan Bernard, Mark Bernard, Cameron Bernard, Eden Bernard, Cora Bernard) and 2 great grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 3pm-4pm on Sunday March 29, 2026, at Community Baptist Church, 5715 Miami Rd. South Bend.  A Celebration of Life Service will begin at 4pm.  Burial will take place the following day in Mansfield Cemetery Association Inc, Mansfield Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Edwin’s name may be made to Community Baptist Church’s missions endeavors.

Online condolences may be sent via the Palmer Funeral Homes website at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.