You may have seen the billboards around town from one of the lawyer types talking about the “unwanted inheritance.”
Basically, it is a reminder that when it comes to the older folks in your life, you need to have a plan. Not a semblance of a plan. Not an “if this happens, then this might happen” kind of plan where you just sort of hope for the best.
You need a real plan, one where you get help from a lawyer. Where other names are on the different bank accounts. Where there are clear lines on the property and the various insurances are paid up.
Then, once you get all that done, your family needs to know where everything is.
Not “it's in the house, somewhere,” but in a bank safety deposit box or the gun safe or the fire box that’s kept in a closet at your house.
The last thing you want, if you’re that older person, is for your children and grandchildren to spend days at your home trying to find all the things they, we, need to get everything straight.
I saw we, not in the royal sense, but in the actual sense, as my mother, Bernie, died unexpectedly last week in Ozark at 86. I’ve already made two trips up, with more on the way, and they’ve been long and tiring going through box after box and drawer after drawer, trying to find the title for this or the pension paperwork for that.
Twice widowed, she was living on her own, and driving, at least when the sun was out. She spent her last years volunteering, fostering kittens (If you’d like one, let me know!) and going to the doctor.
So, in some ways her passing wasn’t totally unexpected. Mom got Covid-19 back at the end of 2021 and never really got over it. Every health issue that comes with being 86, 87 next March, was made worse by her case of what the doctors call “long Covid.”
The coroner called the cause of death natural causes, because that’s what they do, but it was the Covid that killed her.
She got to see one great grandchild but will miss the one due next month.
The end came quickly, at least for her. But for us, it’s been a lot of work, since there were no clear directions provided. I suppose, in these modern times, getting asked if you want to be looped in on a Zoom call to help pick the urn for the ashes is just part of life in the 21st century.
The obituary is below.
Bernice Ann Peppas Hubler
Bernice Ann Peppas Hubler passed away Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in her home in Ozark. She was 86. Bernie was born in Champaign, Illinois, on March 31, 1938, to Albert and Clara (Smith) Brown of Metcalf, Illinois. She was a 1955 graduate of Young America High School in Metcalf and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was twice widowed.
Bernie was a retired EMT from Franklin County EMS, and she had also worked at Turner Memorial Hospital as a Respiratory Therapist. She was an active volunteer at the Ozark Food Bank and the Ozark Christmas Spirit Baskets, a member of the Rolling River Red Hat Society, volunteered for over 20 years for Foothills Little Theatre, and fostered rescued animals. She loved to knit, crochet and play trivia games. She enjoyed spring gardening, growing flowers, and seeing her grandchildren.
Bernie is survived by her children, Dr. Timothy J. (Mary) Brown of Reno, Nevada; Jayson (Jenni) Peppas of Alma; Jeremy (Gwen) Peppas of Little Rock; Penni (Jeremie) Burns of Ozark; Josh (Kelli) Peppas of Mulberry; and Lanie (Charles Ray) Schubarth of Ozark. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Madison and Grace Peppas of Alma; Nick (Kylee) Peppas of Mulberry; Felicia Opperman (Danielle) of Henderson, Nevada; Khloe Heinrich of Alma; Elder Brant Peppas of Washington, D.C.; Brayden, Brenden, Brancen, and Berkely Peppas of Mulberry; Bryant Burns (Mary Rose) of San Antonio; Briley Burns of Ozark; Eli Peña (Keanna) of Las Vegas; and Liam and Zoey Schubarth of Ozark. She is survived by one great grandson, Adonis Peña, of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bernie was preceded in death by her parents, husband Sam Peppas, husband Frank Hubler, and four siblings.
Visitation, followed by a celebration of life, will be held Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 240 Country Club Lane, Clarksville. Cremation arrangements were made under the direction of Shaffer Funeral Home.
A graveside service at a family plot in Illinois will be held next spring.
Memorials may be made in Bernie’s name to the Ozark Food Pantry, P.O. Box 338, Ozark, AR 72949, the Ozark Athletic Booster Club at 3001 Mistie Lane, Ozark, AR 72949, or the Alma High School DECA at PO Box 2359, Alma, AR 72921.
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The unwanted inheritance
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You may have seen the billboards around town from one of the lawyer types talking about the “unwanted inheritance.”
Basically, it is a reminder that when it comes to the older folks in your life, you need to have a plan. Not a semblance of a plan. Not an “if this happens, then this might happen” kind of plan where you just sort of hope for the best.
You need a real plan, one where you get help from a lawyer. Where other names are on the different bank accounts. Where there are clear lines on the property and the various insurances are paid up.
Then, once you get all that done, your family needs to know where everything is.
Not “it's in the house, somewhere,” but in a bank safety deposit box or the gun safe or the fire box that’s kept in a closet at your house.
The last thing you want, if you’re that older person, is for your children and grandchildren to spend days at your home trying to find all the things they, we, need to get everything straight.
I saw we, not in the royal sense, but in the actual sense, as my mother, Bernie, died unexpectedly last week in Ozark at 86. I’ve already made two trips up, with more on the way, and they’ve been long and tiring going through box after box and drawer after drawer, trying to find the title for this or the pension paperwork for that.
Twice widowed, she was living on her own, and driving, at least when the sun was out. She spent her last years volunteering, fostering kittens (If you’d like one, let me know!) and going to the doctor.
So, in some ways her passing wasn’t totally unexpected. Mom got Covid-19 back at the end of 2021 and never really got over it. Every health issue that comes with being 86, 87 next March, was made worse by her case of what the doctors call “long Covid.”
The coroner called the cause of death natural causes, because that’s what they do, but it was the Covid that killed her.
She got to see one great grandchild but will miss the one due next month.
The end came quickly, at least for her. But for us, it’s been a lot of work, since there were no clear directions provided. I suppose, in these modern times, getting asked if you want to be looped in on a Zoom call to help pick the urn for the ashes is just part of life in the 21st century.
The obituary is below.
Bernice Ann Peppas Hubler
Bernice Ann Peppas Hubler passed away Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in her home in Ozark. She was 86. Bernie was born in Champaign, Illinois, on March 31, 1938, to Albert and Clara (Smith) Brown of Metcalf, Illinois. She was a 1955 graduate of Young America High School in Metcalf and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was twice widowed.
Bernie was a retired EMT from Franklin County EMS, and she had also worked at Turner Memorial Hospital as a Respiratory Therapist. She was an active volunteer at the Ozark Food Bank and the Ozark Christmas Spirit Baskets, a member of the Rolling River Red Hat Society, volunteered for over 20 years for Foothills Little Theatre, and fostered rescued animals. She loved to knit, crochet and play trivia games. She enjoyed spring gardening, growing flowers, and seeing her grandchildren.
Bernie is survived by her children, Dr. Timothy J. (Mary) Brown of Reno, Nevada; Jayson (Jenni) Peppas of Alma; Jeremy (Gwen) Peppas of Little Rock; Penni (Jeremie) Burns of Ozark; Josh (Kelli) Peppas of Mulberry; and Lanie (Charles Ray) Schubarth of Ozark. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Madison and Grace Peppas of Alma; Nick (Kylee) Peppas of Mulberry; Felicia Opperman (Danielle) of Henderson, Nevada; Khloe Heinrich of Alma; Elder Brant Peppas of Washington, D.C.; Brayden, Brenden, Brancen, and Berkely Peppas of Mulberry; Bryant Burns (Mary Rose) of San Antonio; Briley Burns of Ozark; Eli Peña (Keanna) of Las Vegas; and Liam and Zoey Schubarth of Ozark. She is survived by one great grandson, Adonis Peña, of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bernie was preceded in death by her parents, husband Sam Peppas, husband Frank Hubler, and four siblings.
Visitation, followed by a celebration of life, will be held Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 240 Country Club Lane, Clarksville. Cremation arrangements were made under the direction of Shaffer Funeral Home.
A graveside service at a family plot in Illinois will be held next spring.
Memorials may be made in Bernie’s name to the Ozark Food Pantry, P.O. Box 338, Ozark, AR 72949, the Ozark Athletic Booster Club at 3001 Mistie Lane, Ozark, AR 72949, or the Alma High School DECA at PO Box 2359, Alma, AR 72921.
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