Bernice Quertermous

Bernice "Bunny" Porter Quertermous, 96, of North Little Rock passed away at home on Thursday, November 10, 2016. She was born September 3, 1920 to Sgt. Ernest and Lena Thomas at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.
The daughter of a drill sergeant with the 6th Calvary Regiment, she led an almost idyllic childhood at the Army post, with free access to a swimming pool, tennis courts and horseback riding.
After graduating from high school, she attended business school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. At 19, she got a civil service job in Washington D.C., where she met and wed her first husband Wilson Porter in 1941.
The war years were spent following Wilson in various Army Air Corps assignments around the country, where she usually did civil service clerical work.
The couple moved to North Little Rock in 1946. Prior to his retirement, she performed several part time jobs, such as church secretary, Methodist Conference secretary and substitute teaching.
After Wilson's death in 1983, Bunny started traveling extensively with AARP and with her son Tommy. Always active in First United Methodist Church and in her Sunday School class, she met Ben Quertermous there. They fell in love and married in 1992. Theirs was a wonderful but short marriage until his death in 1996. Their union created a marvelous relationship with her special daughter Linda White and her family.
She is survived by her son, Thomas Porter; granddaughter, Leslie VanderBeek; great-grandson, Shane VanderBeek; stepdaughter, Linda White (Mike); step grandchildren, Steven White (Melissa) and Laura Kent (Michael); five step great-grandchildren; and numerous extended family members.
She was preceded in death by her parents; first husband, Wilson Porter; second husband, Ben Quertermous; sisters, Irene Hay and Gladys Endicott; brother, Ernest Thomas; grandson, Kristen Porter; and step granddaughter, Wendy White.
The family wants to extend their special thanks to her beloved caregiver, Cindy Goddard.