Bedard, Bernadette

Bernadette Stephanie “Berns” Bedard, the dynamic maven of detox and dazzling designer, embarked on her ultimate journey without needing a compass or map on September 30, 2024, at the age of 59, in Caledon, Ontario. Toting a suitcase packed with laughter and loving memories, Berns left the terminal we call Earth, having first greeted the world in Port of Spain, Trinidad on September 14, 1965.
Berns’ scholastic saga spun from St. Gabriel’s Primary School through St. Joseph’s Convent, York University, Ryerson University, finishing with a flourish at The Ontario College of Art.
A maestro in the classroom, Berns transformed tykes into scholars during her tenure with the York Regional School Board where she taught grade 7 at Unionville Public School (1994), kindergarten and primary grades through to 2001 in Aurora, Mildmay and Brampton Ontario .
Not one to sit idle, she stitched her name into the fabric of the fashion industry as the founder of The Painted Turtle (1991-1994) a high quality children’s clothing line and Passion Fruit Designs (2001), suiting up women to strut with confidence. Her legacy weaved itself into the vibrant tapestry of women’s fitness and bodybuilding competition attire. In her own style, Berns took a detour into the reality TV realm in 2009, adding a splash of her unique spice to screens everywhere, making appearances in CBC’s The Dragon’s Den and VIVA Network’s Tosca: Flexing at 49.
In an audacious pivot, Berns donned the hat of a Certified Detoxification Specialist, concocting The Real Juicy Detox—a cocktail of insight, wellness, and a twist of candid charm. A spirited influencer, she mixed humor into her candid concoction, leaving her followers intoxicated with inspiration. In her medicinal cannabis crusade, she blazed trails with the same fervor, never shying away from the real high points and lows of her own cancer journey.

Links to just some of her legacy content on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/392627398813622
https://www.facebook.com/bernsbedard
https://www.tiktok.com/@iambernsbedard
https://www.instagram.com/therealjuicydetox/

Berns leaves behind a constellation of stars in her orbit, namely her husband Dalibor Horvat; daughters Danika and Kaia Bedard; her sisters Cathy Ishmael and Debbie Read; and her brother-in-law Emir Ishmael, all shining bright with her teachings. She follows in the ethereal footsteps of her parents, Andrea Mary and Paul Finbar (Barry) Butts, and her late brother-in-law Stephen Read, as they navigate the cosmos.
There wasn’t a shindig big enough on this planet for Berns, so rather than hold a funeral service, she’s invited us to celebrate in spirit and perhaps in spirits for those so inclined. Should you wish to raise a toast to her luminous soul, consider a contribution to McGill University’s Grow Cannabis Research, a cause dear to Berns’s heart of gold and green
(https://muhcfoundation.com/works/grow-cannabis-research).
The family is in the capable hands of Tranquility Burial & Cremation Services in Mississauga, ON. Berns’s vivacious laugh, her larger-than-life personality, and her remarkable zest will live on, inviting us all to take up the baton and sprint joyously through our own races. Berns has undoubtedly organized the meta after-party of a lifetime. Her flair for life, emboldened by humor, will be remembered as one of her most wearable designs.