A 1928 graduate of University of California, Berkeley, she began a career in teaching, in an era when women teachers were put on a 3-year probation that denied them the right to marry until their 4th year in the profession.

Choosing love over a career, Bernice and Pat ran off to Reno, Nevada, and married on October 30, 1930.

They had four children: Jerry, Kathleen, Cynthia and Barbara, all born in San Francisco.

Pat Brown's bid for a third term in 1966 ended in defeat to future U.S president Ronald Reagan.

[3] She lived to see her son Jerry serve two terms as governor (1975-1983), and died May 9, 2002, at age 93.