Birth date: Nov 9, 1930 Death date: May 12, 2019
On May 12, 2019 our beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and our daddy's "wifey", Bonnie Lee VanderHoek left us peacefully in her sleep at home in West Point, Utah. Bonnie was born November 9, 1930 in Salt Lake City, Ut Read Obituary
Grandma was a Christ-like woman who left a legacy of Christ-like women.
Memories last forever, and so do families.
I remember going to her house and helping her clean it every week. I remember talking to her just about anything. After cleaning and talking, she would take me to the temple to do baptisms. She always lead me to do the right thing and be in the right places. She was a Christ-like woman who left a legacy of Christ-centered women. One truly can make a difference and she did. I am blessed to have her as my Grandma and in my eternal family.
Grandma Bonnie left behind a lot of great people who love her dearly. Thank you for your wonderful life, Grandma. Thank you for choosing to become a mother. Thank you for my Dad. I love you so much and you will be very, very missed.
My sweet, loving sister, Bonnie, passed on Mother's Day and at first that made me sad but my daughter reminded me that she was there to meet and have a tender reunion with our Mom.
She took such good care of me when I was a child and I can still hear her singing "Baby Owlet" to me as she rocked me to sleep. Her great sense of humor will forever be remembered.
I love you, Bonnie, and you rest in peace until we meet again.
Your Baby Sister, Becki
Bonnie Mama, Bon Voyage
for my siblings
1
Early afternoons now, the sundowning
lullaby rolls toward us
like the evening tide at Galveston,
the waves mild: Oh dear, oh dear…
storms, occasional.
Eventually, the crooning ebbs,
and after a sleepy lull,
laughter may still punctuate
the horizon like summer lightning,
a show for mornings.
2
How often our bonny Mama, our first love,
stood for us when we would have writhed
in the shadows rather than stand for ourselves.
We do not doubt our bonny Mama loved us.
But where did Bonnie go?
At times mothering backfires, is
othering, estranges a woman from herself.
3
Here at this renewal, husband bent double
for a last kiss, our mama’s Bonnie-smiles all bestowed
on children and grandchildren gathered
and gone, the house quiet, having hung on,
past every expectation through the wee hours
of Mother’s Day, her last gift—later, I had to laugh,
a gift of laughter—
Mama gasped and then let go
earth’s last polluted breath, stumbled
free of her old body, the traitor hip.
I imagine her now, walker abandoned
before a green meadow, mountain to the side,
running toward sunrise, younger with each stride,
rising into herself, grinning huge,
into a light so bright, it is past seeing.
Love you, Mama. Be young again, be all of you.
12 May 2019
Corri Elizabeth
Bonnie Mama, Bon Voyage
—for my siblings
1
Early afternoons now, the sundowning
lullaby rolls toward us
like the evening tide at Galveston,
the waves mild: Oh dear, oh dear…
storms, occasional.
Eventually, the crooning ebbs,
and after a sleepy lull,
laughter may still punctuate
the horizon like summer lightning,
a show for mornings.
2
How often our bonny Mama, our first love,
stood for us when we would have writhed
in the shadows rather than stand for ourselves.
We do not doubt our bonny Mama loved us.
But where did Bonnie go?
At times mothering backfires, is
othering, estranges a woman from herself.
3
Here at this renewal, husband bent double
for a last kiss, our mama’s Bonnie-smiles all bestowed
on children and grandchildren gathered
and gone, the house quiet, having hung on,
past every expectation through the wee hours
of Mother’s Day, her last gift—later, I had to laugh,
a gift of laughter—
Mama gasped and then let go
earth’s last polluted breath, stumbled
free of her old body, the traitor hip.
I imagine her now, walker abandoned
before a green meadow, mountain to the side,
running toward sunrise, younger with each stride,
rising into herself, grinning huge,
into a light so bright, it is past seeing.
Love you, Mama. Be young again, be all of you.
12 May 2019
Corri Elizabeth
Rachel and family: All my love to your family! I have so many great memories of spending time at your home on 8600 South, and running around the neighborhood. I loved hanging out with you and your mom. It's hard to lose a parent, but the Plan of Salvation is real, gives us hope, and comforts us. Share my love with all of the family, and tell your dad I owe him a quarter.
Gina Darlington
I remember when I was 4-5 years old, my parents would let me go stay with Grandma. At the time, we lived in SLC and she lived in Evanston. These were my happiest vacations in those days. I had Grandma all to myself. Her place was full of adventure, inside and out. And it was during those visits, we would watch daytime TV and make fun of just about everything and everyone on there. Thank you, Grandma, for my sense of humor, love of crosswords, and fondness of pigs. Love you!
