Bernice Darling bio

Bernice Jones Darling and her twin brother, Barry, were born on March 27, 1986, to Robert and Dorothy Jones in Oxford, Mississippi. They didn't have much money, but Robert and Dorothy made sure the twins never went without anything they needed.

Always a loving and caring person, Bernice joined the Adopt-A-Grandparent program when she was 14. She visited the Yoknapatawpha Acres nursing home often and loved helping with the patients, especially the ones without a family. Her goal in life was to become a nurse.

Both Bernice and Barry were good students throughout their elementary and high school years. Bernice tried her best in school, but Barry was the one who excelled at academics and received a scholarship to the University of Mississippi. Bernice wanted to attend college but knew her parents couldn't afford to send her.

During her years at Yoknapatawpha High School, she worked and saved all her money, but it wasn't enough for nursing school. Instead, she opted to attend the Health Care Assistant program at Northwest Mississippi Community College to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA). She knew just the place she wanted to work when she completed her courses.

After Bernice completed her training, Yoknapatawpha Acres hired her. She knew there were nicer facilities where she could've made more money, but she loved the people at Yoknapatawpha Acres and wanted to take care of them.

When she was 21, Bernice and some girlfriends were at the movies when she met a young man named Johnny Darling, who was working behind the counter when their eyes met.

When Bernice came out of the theater after the movie, Johnny got up the nerve to introduce himself and ask her for a date. She accepted, and after the first date, they were inseparable. They were married two years after they met.

One year later, Bernice was pregnant—to their surprise and delight—with twins. After giving birth to their son and daughter, Bernice took time off from work to care for her babies while Johnny found a better-paying job to support his family.

When the twins started school, Bernice went back to her former job at Yoknapatawpha Acres. Since her return to work, Bernice has noticed that some of her co-workers are more negative about their jobs than they were in the past. She told friends she thought the pessimism stemmed from the home's recurring lack of supplies and funding for overtime, which she attributed to changes in the healthcare laws.