Bernadette Irene Oakes

Bernadette Bell Oakes, 70, passed away on May 31st, 2026, after a long period of illness. 

Born in 1956 in the Bronx, Bernadette grew up in Queens for most of her young life and was raised in the Catholic faith with a great love for her Irish heritage. In 1965, she moved to Glen Head with her parents, and three siblings. She graduated from St. Mary’s High School in Manhasset, in 1974, and later earned degrees from St. John’s and Adelphi University. She trained to be an elementary teacher, with a focus in literacy.

 In 1976, she married Gerard (Gerry) Oakes at St. Mary’s Church in Roslyn, NY. Together Bernadette and Gerry had 8 children, whom they raised lovingly in Garden City, NY. 

Bernadette’s number one goal in life was to be a loving mother. She decided to forgo a career as a teacher to focus on what she viewed as the most important job, raising her children. She was quiet, kind, private, and enjoyed the simple things in life- sitting in the sun on the beach, spending time in Greenport, listening to Beatles songs (she was a Paul fan), tulips in Springtime, and eating ice cream at Hildebrandt’s on lunch dates with her children. She brought much of her training as a teacher into her experiences as a young mother, reading often to her children, reciting nursery rhymes, and planning unique birthday parties for them. She was the “queen of Christmas” spending weeks making sure Christmas morning was magical for her children and making sure to read The Night Before Christmas to them every Christmas Eve. 

Bernadette is survived by her husband, Gerard; her daughter Elizabeth Oakes-Lani (Michael), and their daughter, Faith Bernadette; her daughter, Carolyn; her son, James; her daughter, Mary Clare; her son, Michael; her son Brian; her daughter, Christine Oakes Klein (Tucker), and their daughter, Juna; her son Timothy (Christina); and her siblings, Maura (Jonathan) Gammans, and John Bell. She was predeceased by her brother, Charles Bell, and her parents, Margaret Dolan Bell and Adrian Bell. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made, in her memory, to the John Crary Neuropathology Laboratory (Mount Sinai Health System).