Pierina L. Van Zlike

Pierina L. Van Zlike

Pierina L. Van Zlike, 87, of Junction City, died suddenly Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014 at Geary Community Hospital. Pierina was born Dec. 2, 1926 in Trieste, Italy, the daughter of Virgilio & Maria Pia (Moske) Bernardi. She grew up in Trieste, and completed her scuola media superiore (secondary education) there. She worked as a translator for the New Zealand Army after the Allies took Trieste in World War II.

Pierina married James L. Van Zlike on Oct. 29, 1949 in Trieste. They met while he was stationed there with the U.S. Army. They moved to Fort Riley in 1968 and have been residents of Junction City since 1972. Pierina was a homemaker but had also worked for many years at the Post Exchange at Ft. Riley and was an active member of the Retired PX Girls Organization. She also had been a volunteer at the Geary Community Hospital Gift Shop.

Pierina will be dearly missed by all her family and many friends. Her passing has left an aching pain in all our hearts that feels like it will never heal but the love she gave us all is bigger than our great sorrow and powerful enough to sustain us until we see her again.

Survivors include her husband James; her son, James "Jamo" Van Zlike (former wife Deborah Jones), Junction City; her daughter, Barbara Johnson (Clay), Manhattan; her grandchildren, Jared Johnson (Adele "Sis" Malley), Westlake, Ohio, Alicia Gonzalez (Jose), Arlington, Virginia, James "Jimmy" Van Zlike, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Corey Van Zlike (Amanda), Junction City; her great grandchildren, Christina Gonzalez, Wyatt Van Zlike, and Sophia Gonzalez, her niece, Elisabetta Bernardi Trapani; and her nephew, Mauro Bernardi, both of Trieste, Italy. Pierina was preceded in death by her parents, and her brother, Virgilio Bernardi, II., all of Trieste, Italy.

Funeral services will be at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014 at the Kansas Veterans' Cemetery at Ft. Riley, Manhattan, KS. There will be a visitation beginning at 12:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday before departing for the cemetery, at Penwell-Gabel Johnson Chapel, 203 N. Washington, Junction City.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Assn., sent in care of Penwell-Gabel Johnson Chapel, 203 N. Washington, Junction City, KS, 66441.