 Her parents were the Reverend Jesse Johnson and her mother, Beatrice Wise Johnson. In the children's CD, Sweet Hunting the Rock, Still the Same Me, Dr. Regan wrote in response to, What are your names? Bernice Johnson and Regan wrote, My mother, Beatrice Wise Johnson, named me Bernice because she thought it was a very pretty name. I was told later it was French, spelled Bernice, and it meant beautiful.