KENNEDALE — Bernice Pritchard had a lot more life to live, her children believe. She was vibrant, hardworking, generous, and a loving mother of four and grandmother of five.
She and her fiancé were living at a senior living apartment complex when her life was tragically ended in a murder-suicide.
“Every time I think about it, I get sick to my stomach,” said Tonisha Pritchard, her oldest child at 36. “I haven’t slept in days. Barely ate. Barely bathed. I homeschool my kids. I can’t even teach them.”
Tonisha has two sisters, Trisha Pritchard and Leila (Pritchard) Brooks, and one brother, Xavier Carter.
The four siblings came to Kennedale last week to pack their mother’s belongings. Bernice Pritchard had moved to a senior living apartment complex on S. New Hope Road with her fiancé, Rickey Lynn Perry, after accepting his proposal last Christmas.
The two never reached the altar or celebrated one year of engagement.