Bernice was born in Cookstown on July 20, 1941, the daughter of Wilfred and Caroline Fildey. She attended Cookstown Public School and Alliston High School. After marrying Jim Purkis she moved to Chatham and then back to Weston, finally settling and raising her children, Bob, Janet and Cathy in Cookstown. In 1980 the Perkis family moved to Florida. She passed away at the age of 65 on August 3rd, 2006.
