Bernita Pettit, a resident of Fairfield passed away March 25, 2026 at Jefferson County Health Center in Fairfield.

     Visitation for family and friends will be 2:00-4:00 PM, Sunday, March 29, 2026 at Behner Funeral Home in Fairfield. Funeral services celebrating her life will be 10:30 AM Monday, March 30th at First United Methodist Church in Fairfield with Rev. Al Coffin officiating. Burial will be at Fellows Cemetery in Keosauqua. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church and mailed to Marcia Seddon 405 N. Liberty Cincinnati, IA 52549

     Bernita was born on February 8, 1936, to Bert and Louise (Morris) Jones in Orchard, Iowa. She grew up near Nashua and Waterloo, Iowa area and graduated from Orange Township High School in 1954.

     On September 2, 1955, she married Dean Pettit in Waterloo, and they relocated to Fairfield in 1957. He preceded her in death in October 2019.

     Bernita worked as a secretary for Jefferson County Public Health when they first opened. She later worked as a secretary for Community Mental Health and had many types of duties there. She enjoyed working with the public and later did After Death Care at Behner Funeral Home.

     Bernita began grief groups in the Fairfield area and helped coordinate these for twenty-five years. She helped bring hospice care to the area in the late 1980s, volunteering for them for twenty-one years. Bernita volunteered as a camp counselor at Golden Valley and later was the Christian Education Coordinator and Parish Assistant at the First United Methodist Church in Fairfield. In this job she touched the lives of many local youths and was fondly called “Bernie” by many of them.

     Throughout the years, many approached her publicly to tell her what an impression she had made on them. Bernita especially enjoyed the overnight camps at Golden Valley where she continued to chaperone and was quite willing to take on their “staying up all night” challenges.

     Bernita was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Fairfield, often volunteering there when she was able, and was a member of Ruth Circle. She was also a member of Lionels and ARC. Bernita was actively involved in her children’s lives and was a Sunday School teacher, Cub Scout leader, and 4-H leader. She was recognized in Des Moines at the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame in 1992 and received the female Outstanding Citizen Community Service Award in 1993 from the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce.

     Bernita was known for her time in the kitchen, especially the weekly pie baking for Dean or any other family that was coming. Holidays were always busy with the family, and she worked very hard to include each person’s favorite dish or treat. Bernita wrote regular letters keeping the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren informed about current events in her and Dean’s life.

     Those left to honor her memory are her three children and their spouses, Marcia (John) Seddon of Cincinnati, Iowa, Glen (Patti Laughlin) Pettit of Douds, Iowa, and Gordon (Becca Roehrich) Pettit of Macomb, Illinois; eight grandchildren; Sami (George) Budiselich, Chloie Smith, Katie (Japheth) Owens, Eric Pettit, Justin (Emily) Pettit, Drew Pettit, Zech (Katherine) Pettit, and Aly (Harmony) Pettit; nine great-grandchildren, Calvin Smith, Calliope Lewis, Eleanor, Autumn, and Azalea Owens, Ralph Stanley, Toby Comeaux and Eva Comeaux, and Josephine Pettit; three sisters-in-law, Leona Hoel, Carol Jones, and Linda Jones; along with cousins; and many nieces and nephews.

     Besides her husband, Bernita was preceded in death by her parents; siblings; Mildred Smith, Vernon Jones, Derald Hoel, Eddie Jones, Wayne Jones, and Weldon Jones; along with a brother-law, Carl Smith and a close brother-in-law and sister-in-law Rudy and Helen (Pettit) Rogers and their daughter, Diane Rogers Brinkmeyer.