Marlys Mildred Bernier

Marlys Bernier, age 94, of Barnesville, MN, died on Thursday, July 16, 2026, at Essentia Hospital in Fargo, ND with her family at her side.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 AM, Friday, July 24, 2026, at Assumption Catholic Church in Barnesville, MN with Father Todd Arends presiding. Visitation will begin at 9 AM on Friday. Burial will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Barnesville, MN.

Marlys Mildred Desing was born on June 28, 1932, to David and Mathilda “Tillie” (Nicklay) Desing in Barnesville, MN. She grew up in Barnesville where she attended Assumption Catholic School through 8th grade and graduated from Barnesville High School in 1951. She married Lawrence “Swede” Bernier on February 27, 1954, in Assumption Catholic Church, Barnesville. Together they raised six children.

Marlys had a gift for cooking, and she worked at her mother’s restaurant, the Eagle Café in Barnesville, before opening her own restaurant with her sister Vivian (Sis) Montplaisir from 1970-1979 called Sis and Mars. Sis and Mars was the place to be after every high school sporting event for several years.

During the time she owned Sis and Mars she also worked for Korb Tax Office and eventually Salber Tax Service until her retirement in 2002. Marlys always had multiple jobs from working on farms picking potatoes to upholstery work with her good friend Elaine Kava.

Marlys was a lifelong member of Assumption Catholic Church, the National Catholic Society of Foresters, and the St. Anne’s Guild. She cooked and catered food for hundreds of events for family, church, and community as well as for the Steam Threshers workers in Rollag, MN for many years.

Marlys loved playing cards with friends and spent hours at the Senior Center playing Whist, Hand n Foot and Hearts. She also would not turn down an opportunity to head to the Casino to play penny slots. She especially enjoyed the bus trips to the Casino with her friends and family organized by her children to celebrate birthdays. Her favorite Casino excursions were to Vegas and Mystic Lake with her lifelong friend Babe Ronsberg.

She is survived by four sons and one daughter, Chris (Judy) Bernier, Fond du Lac, WI, Clark (Jean) Bernier, Barnesville, Taryn Ishaug (Jeffrey Stangland), Eden Prairie, MN, Adam (Kris) Bernier, Watertown, SD, and Erin Bernier(Jeffrey Hankinson), Wilmington, DE; six grandchildren, Erik (Jessica) Bernier, Madison, Wisconsin, Natasha (Daniel) Hennessy, Minnetonka, MN, Andrea (Andrew) Furber, Plymouth, MN, Braden Ishaug (Andrea Schatzman), Boston MA, Codey Bernier (Mary Ogdahl), Fargo ND and Kathryn O’Brien (Jacob Smith), Minneapolis; 9 great-grandchildren, Owen Christensen (Nina Draper), Caden, Isaak, Quinton, Keegan, Avery, Aidan, Everly and Lenon; 3 great-great-grandchildren, Clementine, Bennett and Willow, two brothers: Vernon (Beth) Desing and Jerry (Addie) Furst, and sister in law Joan Furst. Marlys is also survived by several nieces and nephews, other relatives, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband Swede in 2007, her daughter Karla in 2003, her baby son Joseph, her parents and stepfather Leslie “Tudy” Furst, sister Vivian (Sis) Montplaisir, brother Tom Furst and brother Gene Furst.

Online memories and condolences may be shared at www.KorsmoFuneralService.com   

Memorials are suggested to the Barnesville Senior Citizens Center    501 Second Ave NE     Barnesville, MN 56514