Naomi Rink Bernhardt

Naomi Helen Rink Bernhardt, well-known wife of Paul Leake Bernhardt, died Friday evening, November 19, 2010, of heart failure in Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, following a single-car accident. One of seven children of the late Hillery Hudson and Carrie Ethel Fleming Rink, Mrs. Bernhardt, 81, was born June 18, 1929, in Salisbury. She attended Boyden High School and was a member of the Class of 1946. In 1952, she graduated summa cum laude from Catawba College. She married Paul Leake Bernhardt on October 19, 1952. They celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary just a month before her untimely death. Mrs. Bernhardt joined Coburn Memorial Methodist Church in her youth, and, after her marriage, moved her membership to St. John’s Lutheran Church. She was an advocate for all the cultural activities of Salisbury. She was especially supportive of young artists. An active member of the Salisbury Woman’s Club and Arc of Rowan County, she also belonged to the Rowan Museum, Inc., Historic Salisbury Foundation, and the Salisbury-Rowan Symphony Guild. She is survived by son, Paul Leake “P.B.” Bernhardt, junior, of the home; daughter, Eva Bernhardt Bingham and husband David, of Salisbury; brothers, John Felix Rink and Ann Weatherford, Donald Eugene Rink and wife Sue, of Salisbury; sister, Caroline Rink Peeler and husband George, of Easton, Massachusetts; sisters-in-law, Ann Honeycutt Rink, of Salisbury, and Mary Hege Rink, of Cornelius; and dear friend, Jackie Hinson, of Lexington. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by three siblings: Joe Lee Rink, Dorothy Rink Adams, and Hillery Hudson Rink, junior. Visitation, Service and Burial: The family will receive friends tonight from 6 until 8 o’clock at Summersett Funeral Home. At other times, they will be at the home of Eva Bingham, 402 South Ellis Street. Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday, November 23, at three o’clock at St. John’s Lutheran Church. The Reverend Rhodes Woolly will officiate, assisted by the Reverend Jan Huntley. Burial will be in Chestnut Hill Cemetery. Memorials: Memorials may be made to the Rowan Museum, Inc., 202 North Main Street, Salisbury, NC 28144; or the Salvation Army, 620 Bringle Ferry Road, Salisbury, NC 28144.

Naomi Rink Bernhardt

June 18, 1929 - November 19, 2010