Berenice was born in Kentucky but grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where she attended the Toledo public schools. She received her teaching credentials at Bowling Green College in Ohio. During World War II, she left her teaching position in Toledo and joined the American Red Cross. After training, she was initially assigned to a Red Cross Club in India, where American forces were stationed. She traveled to India through the Panama Canal aboard the British ship Queen Mary, which was fast enough so that no escort ships were necessary. In 1946 she was reassigned to Germany for duty in the American occupied zone. One of Berenice's passions was playing the piano. Her sister Irene would send her sheet music from the States so she could help entertain the troops in Red Cross clubs, first in Frankfurt and then in Bremen. It was at one of these clubs that she met her future husband Bob (then a major). They were married in Columbus, Georgia on October 4, 1947. Daughter Bonnie was born several years later.