Janice Carolyn Bernard

Janice Bernard, 95, passed away peacefully on April 19, 2026, in the home she grew up in, and with family by her side. A San Franciscan through and through, Jan embodied the best qualities of the city where she lived her entire life: curious, open-minded, and non-judgmental, full of intelligence and artistic talent, and absolutely beautiful. She was a social butterfly who connected easily with others, always fun-loving and with a great sense of humor. Even in her final months, her sparkling personality shone through, as she maintained good cheer and positive energy to the end.

Janice Carolyn Jones was born in San Francisco on Easter Sunday, 1931, to Walter and Gladys Jones. Though growing up during the Depression, her parents managed to provide her with an idyllic childhood, full of nature exploration and the arts. She attended Lowell High School, and then UC Berkeley, where she joined the Chi Omega sorority, participated in glee club, and majored in art. She was particularly grateful for having had the opportunity to study watercolor painting with Chiura Obata while at Cal.

After college, Jan married Albert Bernard, and together they welcomed eight children into the world. Somehow, even with eight kids to care for, she managed to keep painting as well as volunteering her time to help teach art in elementary schools. Jan also took up the hobby of organic vegetable gardening long before it was mainstream. Her garden was truly impressive - the gardening class at George Washington High School actually took field trips to her backyard, and she was delighted when the local paper published an article featuring her and her garden.

While the marriage didn’t last, Jan’s artistic aspirations continued on, and she had many art shows over the decades. She worked out of a studio at Hunter’s Point Shipyards, and remained active with the local art community as long as her health allowed. She particularly enjoyed her time on the art committee of the Unitarian Universalist Church of San Francisco, where she herself had several art shows.

As her youngest children were reaching adulthood, Jan went back to college to get her J.D. at USF, and while always an artist first and foremost, the practice of law was a big part of the second half of her life. With a heart for the underdog, Jan used her law degree to help those who had few resources to fall back on. Those who only knew the ever-agreeable Jan Bernard in other areas of her life would be surprised to witness the steel determination Jan brought to representing her clients - she was one who could not be intimidated.

Jan was not someone who wanted a simple life - she always had many balls in the air. Well into her late 80s, she went out to nursing homes to sing her beloved jazz and pop standards from decades past to an audience of whom some were younger than herself; she loved socializing at the Doelger’s Senior Center luncheons; made good friends at the Pomeroy Center Therapeutic Pool; and hosted meetings of the San Francisco Theater Club in her home.

Even as dementia stole Jan’s memory, her encyclopedic knowledge of the Great American Songbook remained seemingly untouched. Up until the end, she could remember all the lyrics to hundreds of songs. She would often astonish people by singing an obscure song in its entirety which she likely hadn’t heard in decades. Music was her great solace in the final chapter of her life. Jan’s 95th birthday was again on Easter Sunday this year, for only the fifth time in her long life.

Janice Bernard is survived by her children Alissa, Jonathan, Morgana, Grace, Manuel, Joseph, and Sara; her grandchildren Aaron, Sean, Lauren, Brenna, Jordan, Nicole, Joshua, William, and Emma; fifteen great-grandchildren; and countless other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her son, Jaime.

Services will be private. The family welcomes donations to the Pomeroy Recreation & Rehabilitation Center in Jan’s memory.