Mrs. Bernice Alice (Dumas) Gonyea

Bernice Alice (Dumas) Gonyea, 98, of Malone, New York, passed away on July 4, 2026, under the loving care of family and the staff at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital. Born on February 8, 1928, in Malone, she was the daughter of Walter Oliver Dumas and Anna Mary Brockway. Bernice was a lifelong parishioner of Notre Dame Church in Malone, where her Catholic faith was the quiet foundation of everything she did. Bernice was devoted to the Blessed Mother, Mary, and modeled her own life with the same fierce, selfless love. Bernice had a gift for gathering people; family, neighbors, and friends all found their way to her table. She was a central presence in her community, chaperoned 4-H trips, served faithfully at local elections, and welcomed generations of visitors to the family camp at Fraser’s Point along the great St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. An avid Scrabble player, she cherished hours spent playing board games with family and friends. In later years, she seamlessly transitioned to her iPad, keeping her sharp wit active and staying deeply connected to her nieces and nephews through digital matches." She is survived by her sons, Stephen and his wife Joyce, Bryant, Mark, Craig and his wife Valarie, Scott, and Alan and his wife Cathy; her grandchildren, Renee (Gonyea) Fox and her husband Horton, Sherry (Gonyea)McLeroy, Kiera Gonyea and husband Taylor Hillcoat, Aiyana (Gonyea) Conquest and her husband Kevin, and Haley Gonyea; and her great-grandchildren, Gabriel, Zachary, and Anna Fox, Jackson and Kaden McLeroy, and Esme and Samuel Conquest. She is also survived by her sister-in-law Viva (Gregware) Dumas. Many cherished nieces and nephews also survive her. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Howard Gonyea ;her daughter-in-law, Bernadette (Derouchie) Gonyea; and her 11 siblings: Kenneth and his wife Ruth Delong, William and his wife Leona White, Rita, Edgar and his wife Constance Hyde, Catherine and her husband Edward (Ned) Welsh, Norman and his wives Mary Frances McCabe and Shirley Sauve, Leslie and his wives Jean Travers and Mary Graham Zehnder, Darrell and his wife Jean Cunningham, Geraldine and her husband Arthur (Dick) Barlow, Clarence, and Joan and her husband Leonard Coughlin. Calling hours will be held at St. Mary-Murphy-Wilcox Funeral Home on Monday, July 13 from 4 to 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Notre Dame Church in Malone on Tuesday, July 14 at 11 a.m. Burial will take place at Notre Dame Cemetery. Donations may be made to your local food pantry in Bernice’s memory. “She gathered us in. She sent us forth. She will not be forgotten.”

Mrs. Bernice Alice (Dumas) Gonyea

February 8, 1928 - July 4, 2026