{{Short description|American politician (1920–2005)}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Mildred Adelaide "Milly" Cox Bernard | honorific_suffix = | image = | state_house = Utah<!--more often use state_house --> | district = 24th | term_start = 1966 | term_end = 1976 | preceded = | succeeded = | speaker = | term_start2 = | term_end2 = | predecessor2 = | successor2 = | birth_date = {{Birth date text|28 May 1920}} | birth_place = Brewster, Nebraska, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|7 November 2005|28 May 1920 }} | death_place = Kearns, Utah, U.S. | spouse = Lynn (Bud) Bernard | party = Democratic | relations = | children = | alma_mater = University of Colorado | occupation = | profession = Politician | signature = | website = | footnotes = }}
'''Mildred Adelaide Cox Oberhansley Bernard''' (May 28, 1920 – November 7, 2005) was a member of the Utah House of Representatives from Kearns, Utah, serving five terms from 1966 to 1976.
==Early life and career==
Bernard was born May 28, 1920, in Brewster, Nebraska, to Robert E. and Eleanor Jarvis Cox. She graduated with honors from Broken Bow High School in Broken Bow, Nebraska, after which she attended business college in Denver.<ref name=obit>[https://archive.today/20130121092140/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1363571/Obituary-Mildred-Adelaide-Cox-Bernard.html "Obituary: Mildred Adelaide Cox Bernard".] [http://www.deseretnews.com/home/ ''Deseret News''.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719175637/http://www.deseretnews.com/home/ |date=2011-07-19 }} 2005-11-09. Retrieved 2011-07-19.</ref>
Two marriages, to Robert E. Workman and to Rex E. Oberhansley, ended in divorce. In 1972, she married Justice Court Judge Lynn (Bud) Bernard; the marriage lasted until his death in 1987.<ref name=obit/><ref name=trib-obit/>
==Political career==
After moving to Kearns, where she was one of the earliest residents, she helped to organize the Kearns Town Council, on which she served for many years. She was a charter member of the Kearns Water & Sewer District Board, and the first woman to sit on the Salt Lake Planning and Zoning Commission, a seat that she held for 13 years.<ref name=obit/>
In 1967, she was elected to the Utah House of Representatives as Milly Oberhansley. She served five terms, until 1976, changing her name to Milly O. Bernard in 1972.<ref>[http://le.utah.gov/asp/roster/complist.asp?letter=O "Historic listing of Utah state legislators".] [http://le.utah.gov/ Utah State Legislature.] Retrieved 2011-07-19.</ref> A Democrat, she served as Majority Whip, and as Minority and Majority Leader. She also sat on a number of boards and committees, including the Juvenile Court Governing Board, the Judicial Council, the Granite Mental Health Board, the Community Action Board, and the Social Services Committee.<ref name=obit/>
Bernard described herself as a "minority, minority, minority", as a woman, a non-Mormon, and as a non-native of Utah. Colleagues described her as a supporter of higher education and of women's rights.<ref name=trib-obit>Canham, Matt. [http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=3204106&itype=NGPSID&keyword=milly&sdate=2005-11-07&edate=2005-11-19&qtype=any "Oberhansley was a trailblazer in Capitol politics".] [http://www.sltrib.com/ ''Salt Lake Tribune''.] 2005-11-11. Retrieved 2011-07-19.</ref>
In 1976, Bernard was appointed by Governor Cal Rampton and reappointed by Governor Scott M. Matheson to the Utah Public Service Commission, on which she served as chairman until her retirement in 1982.<ref name=obit/>
Bernard worked for fifteen years for EIMCO, a Salt Lake supplier of mining machinery; her tenure at EIMCO encompassed her ten years in the House.<ref name=obit/><ref>Reid, Bill. [http://www.coalleader.com/2003/jan03_cover_story.htm "EIMCO to close plant".] [http://coalleader.com/ ''Coal Leader''.] January 2003. Retrieved 2011-07-19.</ref>
Bernard died in Keans at the age of 85.<ref name=trib-obit/>
==Notes== <references/>
{{Portal bar|Biography|Politics|United States|Utah}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Mildred}} Category:1920 births Category:2005 deaths Category:Democratic Party members of the Utah House of Representatives Category:Women state legislators in Utah Category:People from Blaine County, Nebraska Category:People from Kearns, Utah Category:Utah city council members Category:University of Colorado Denver alumni Category:Women city councillors in Utah Category:20th-century American women politicians Category:21st-century American women Category:20th-century members of the Utah Legislature