Maria A. Bernard

Maria Ashburn Bernard, 66, was called home on Saturday, March 28, 2026.

She was born on July 24, 1959, in Richmond, Virginia, to Boyd Ashburn and Josephine Lois Ashburn. She met her husband, Robert John (“Bob”) Bernard, while they were both students at the Medical College of Virginia. Maria and Bob married in December 1982, and shortly thereafter moved to Houston, Texas, where Bob continued his medical training and Maria worked as an occupational therapist. In Houston, they welcomed their two daughters, Katie and Lizzie, and became active members of their church, Second Baptist, where they would faithfully serve over the next three decades.

Life then took Maria and Bob to Pennsylvania, Louisiana, back to Houston, and then ultimately to El Paso, Texas, where they have lived for the last nearly eight years while Bob serves in the Army Medical Corps at Fort Bliss. At each place life took them, they found wonderful churches, most recently at Christ the King Presbyterian Church.

Maria’s relationship with the Lord was the most important thing in her life and was the foundation from which she did everything. She could be found each morning on the back porch or kitchen table doing her quiet time. She was always involved in a women’s Bible study at her church and usually often read another book as a secondary study. Her heart for the Lord poured out in her service to her church community and her greater community. When the girls were still at home, she would host weekly youth group dinners and later would be the host home for life groups for hers and Bob’s church. She also served in her church by being a part of the Women’s Counsel at Christ the King Presbyterian Church.

Her husband, Bob, then her girls, were Maria’s biggest blessings and joys, which grew even more when she became a grandmother to four grandchildren: J.R., Jackson, Joshua, and Joy. Maria cherished the time she got to spend with her family. Even though they lived all over the country, Maria and her family found time to get together and when they were not physically together, were constantly calling, texting, and FaceTiming one another.

In addition to serving on the Women’s Counsel at her church, Maria loved being involved with Westside Women’s Club, the Women’s Club of El Paso, and the Good Time Singers where she was part of a bunco group, book clubs, hiking groups, singing in local nursing homes, and other many fun activities which richly filled her days and time in El Paso.

Maria, along with Bob, enjoyed hosting people at their home and enjoying time with friends over a good meal with good music. Maria played the piano her entire life and had recently started taking lessons again. She loved reading, biking, hiking and walking around El Paso, and loved history and touring historical sites and homes.

Maria is preceded in death by her parents, Boyd Ashburn and Lois Ashburn, her in-laws Ange and Shirley Bernard, and her grandson, Joshua. Maria is survived by her loving husband, Bob Bernard of El Paso, daughter Katie Eisterhold (husband Ben) of Houston, daughter Lizzie Davis (husband Josh) of Bryan, and her grandchildren J.R., Jackson, and Joy. She is also survived by her sister, Dana Moriconi (husband Henry) of Richmond, Virginia, brother-in-law Will Bernard (wife Debra) of Kansas City, Missouri, sister-in-law Joan Johnson (husband Stuart) of Prescott, Arizona, and many nieces, nephews, grand nieces, and grand nephews.

For those local to El Paso, a memorial service for Maria will be held on Thursday, April 2, 2026, at 10:30AM at Christ the King Presbyterian Church at 1500 Resler Drive, El Paso, Texas, 79912 with a reception to immediately follow at the church. The service will be livestreamed at the following link for those unable to attend in-person: https://youtube.com/live/YGMNuIC5CZE?feature=share

For those local to Houston, a memorial service for Maria will be held at Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, at a later date in conjunction with an internment service for the family at Houston National Cemetery. Additional details will be provided once available.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in memory of Maria Bernard to Christ the King Presbyterian Church in El Paso, Texas.

Services are entrusted to Sunset Funeral Homes-West, 480 N. Resler Drive. Please visit her online memorial at www.sunsetfuneralhomes.net.