Mary Bernadette Czapka

Mary Bernadette Czapka, 72, of Inverness, FL, passed the morning of December 5th, 2019. She was born on August 22, 1947 in Rockville Centre, New York. She was a loving mother, sister, daughter, grandmother, and time model to her family and friends. She was lovingly known as Bernadette and was a woman of many talents. She served her community as a registered nurse and touched the lives of everyone she ever met. She was only five foot eight, but stood ten feet tall. Bernadette was known to be a rock. She was a mentally strong person, independent, and dependable and took on living with unmatched passion. She loved art, especially sketching and both water and oil painting. Bernadette loved to sketch the newborns sleeping peacefully in the maternity ward. Her creative artwork decorated her house. She loved all of God’s creatures both great and small. Bernadette was known to adopt and care for small animals of all kinds. Our home was a sanctuary to all animals from dogs, bunnies, birds to even mice. She was a talented cook and could cook anything, but was known for her sugar cookies, rice pudding and a few specialty dishes such as stir fry. Dishes that touched the soul in only the way that something that was cooked with love could do.  It was the kind of comfort food that brought family from near and far together time and time again. She was always able to provide a hot home-cooked meal in her house.

She was a member of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Inverness.

She was preceded in death by her father, Bernard Czapka and the father of her children, Thomas Calma.  Survivors include her mother, Mary Lapiana of Inverness, FL; two sons, Christopher Calma of Long Island, NY, and Andrew Calma of Inverness, FL; three grandchildren, Luke Calma, Isaac Calma, and Vanessa Calma; three sisters, Cathy Hahr and her husband Jeff of DeFuniak Springs, FL, Theresa Manning of Inverness, FL, and Loretta Haddad and her husband Nazih of Tallahassee, FL; two brothers, Thaddeus Czapka and his partner Timothy of Orlando, FL, and Damian Czapka and his wife Lisa of Oviedo, FL; as well as 15 nieces and nephews and 13 grandnieces and grandnephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:00 AM, Saturday, December 7, 2019 at the Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Inverness. The family will receive friends from 9:00 AM until 9:45 AM at the Heinz Funeral Home, Inverness, FL.