Bernice Gotcher
1933 – 2024
Bernice Epley Gotcher was born on February 27, 1933, on a small homestead in Bearden, Oklahoma. She was a twin. She and her sister, Bernadine, were very close until her sister’s death in 1995. They looked so much alike in their younger years that it was hard for anyone, even themselves, to know which twin it was in pictures.
She married Louis Olin Gotcher, a handsome Texas man who was living and working in Shawnee. They met at the Shawnee Church of Christ, where they were married on January 20 , 1952. Two days after her 20th birthday, they had their first child, Alisha Ann, on March 1, 1953. Soon to follow was their son, Richard Neal, February 4, 1955. They moved to Tulsa and had their third child, Elizabeth on July 31, 1957.
Bernice loved the Lord and always found a place to work in every church they attended. She taught classes for children and was responsible for various women’s classes wherever they lived. Recently, she was the teacher for CWBS’s Zoom Class, where she shared her wisdom, love of the Lord and strong desire for them, and her, to go home to heaven with God.
She was preceded in death by her parents, William Arthur Epley and Golda Pearl Epley, her sister Bernadine Epley Holt, her brother Kenneth Epley and her beloved husband, Louis Olin Gotcher.
She is survived by her three children, Alisha Ann Gotcher Richey (married to Ralph Richey), Richard Neal Gotcher (married to Jan Ryan Gotcher) and Elizabeth Gotcher. She had five grandchildren, Lesley Renaye Richey Smith (married to Clayton Smith), Bennett Neal Richey (married to Tiffany Marie Grande Richey), Kelley Jean Richey, Ryan Neal Gotcher, (married to Malarie Barrett Gotcher) and Jordan Keeth Gotcher. She had seven great-grandchildren, Aiden Scott Richey (married to Zoe Barne Richey), Aubrey Elizabeth Richey, Jude Bennett Richey, Hunter Louis Smith, Hayleigh Renaye Smith, JayAnn Gotcher and Barrett Gotcher. She loved them all very much.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, September 13, 2024 at Matthews Funeral Home Chapel Edmond, OK.
To watch the service CLICK HERE to go to our YouTube page. Click on ‘Videos’, then ‘Live Streams’.