Sister Bernarda Boner, 93, died Wednesday morning, November 6 at the Villa St. Vincent where she resided since September 5, 2002.

Born in Clinton, Wisconsin, to David and Helena (Franklin) Boner, Sarah Ann Marguerite was the third of seven children, five of whom grew to adulthood. In 1913, the Boner family moved to Red Lake County, where her father had purchased land north of Plummer. Marguerite (as she was called) received her elementary education in a rural school in Red Lake County. She attended high school in Plummer for three years and in Crookston at St. Joseph Academy for one year. In 1926, she entered Mount St. Benedict Convent in Crookston, receiving the name Sister Bernarda. She made her permanent commitment as a Benedictine Sister in 1932.

Sister Bernarda attended Moorhead Stat College, St. Teresa's College, Winona, and the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She earned a Master's courses at University of North Dakota, the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and the Catholic University in Washington, D. C.

Sister Bernarda served as a teacher in the parochial schools of Bemidji, Thief River Falls, Rosen, Crookston, and Detroit Lakes. She also taught religious vacation schools in small parishes in the summer programs for migrant farm workers. After 1948, she taught English, history, psychology and library science at the Cathedral High School and Mount St. Benedict High School in Crookston, and at Sacred Heart High School in East Grand Forks, where she also served as high school administrator.

In her retirement, at Christmas, Easter and many times between, Sister Bernarda received cards, notes, letters and occasional visits from her former pupils whose names she could scarcely remember, but who had fond memories of the teacher and principal who once made them "toe the mark."

Sister Bernarda was a lover of nature, a trait she claimed to have learned from her father. She enjoyed walking through woodlands at the Mount, collecting samples of wild floweres and grasses she discovered along her way. Always a teacher at heart, she labeled and displayed her gleanings, and shared her knowledge with others.

While teaching at Mount St. Benedict High School, Sister Bernarda attended a workshop on archives in Washington, D. C. With this elementary training, she began organizing a sizeable collection of historical documents, artifacts, and memorabilia which she stored in the first community archives. For her creative efforts to preserve her community's unique Benedictine heritage, she was honored as the founder of Mount St. Benedict Archives.

Sister Bernarda valued her daily life in the Benedictine community where she was schooled in liturgical prayer and supported with good example, forgiveness and love.

Sister Bernarda is survived by a sister, Kay Nee of Fridley, several nieces and other relatives. She was preceded in death by her parents, three brothers and two sisters.

Memorials in honor of Sister Bernarda may be given to the Mount St. Benedict Foundation, 620 East Summit Ave. Crookston, Minnesota 56716.