In Memory

Bonnie Gale (Bartels)

Bonnie Gale (Bartels)

Bonnie Lou Gale Bartels was born December 30, 1951 in Utah.  She attended Tolman Elementary, Bountiful Jr., Centerville Jr. and graduated with honors from Viewmont High.  She attended the University of Utah.  

She had a great sense of humor and was always fun to be around.  

She entered into eternal rest on May, 12, 2019, in San Diego, California.  She is survived by her son, Sam, extended family and friends.  No services are scheduled at this time.

Love and condolences to her son, friends and family.  Rest in peace, Bonnie.



 
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06/18/21 05:05 PM #1    

Lee Turner (Robinson)

I loved Bonnie! I am so sorry to hear this. Condolences to her friends and family.


06/19/21 01:01 PM #2    

Diane Cole

Bonnie with her son Sam at the beach in 2007.

 

Bonnie beat me again, this time to whatever place in the Universe our souls congregate after our earthly adventures.

 

In fourth grade, Bonnie Lou, as she was known around the neighborhood, competed  with me -- her best friend -- and won. Her father, an administrator in the school district, cited our uneven test scores to motivate her to put me in my place. Within a year, we were literally playing tug-of-war for the top spot in class … and for the attention of our heart-throb, Gary Goodfellow. She won the latter, the only contest she cared much about. If that wasn’t bad enough, I got stuck with all the worst teachers in each school we attended after I tried to get revenge by ruining her dad’s lawnmower with rocks in the grass.

    

But none of that prevented Bonnie Lou from exposing me to new worlds of music and literature. A natural storyteller, she would entertain me for hours with the play-by-play of novels meant for more mature audiences. We spent entire afternoons belting out show tunes on her player piano. We shared our dreams of love and adventure. When we were older, she drove me and others around town in her tiny blue Anglia, ensuring we’d have plenty of mischief to remember later in life. She found me a job with her at South Davis Medical Center when I couldn’t get past the prejudices of the community, and she shared her bedroom when I needed refuge my senior year.

 

Bonnie Lou was bright in countless ways. Her math skills put her in classes full of male classmates. She could have gone far with those skills in a later age, when women were encouraged to study math and science. Her personality was buoyant -- or is that boyant? She could strike up an upbeat conversation with just about anybody, but she especially liked the guys. She was stealing kisses years before I dared think of such boldness, even sharing her talent with my secret crush.

 

Bonnie beat me to the punch time and again after high school. She was the first to move into an apartment our first year of college. With Becci Illi for a roommate, she got caught up in activities I put off for later. Before the year was out, she announced her engagement to Ernie Henderson from the old neighborhood. He joined the Navy, and Bonnie became the first of us to move to California and to give birth (I never did), naming her only child after Sam Thomas, a high school pal.

 

Those Navy years sent Bonnie on a wild ride that led her to another marriage and landed her in a bartending job. Her efficiency, pluck and knowledge of college and professional sports attracted regulars that kept fattening her tips. She was clearly a people person. But those years fostered new relationships and risky activities that took their toll, and she eventually retreated to mainstream office work, her favorite involving people in need of health or other kinds of community services.

 

Bonnie experienced her share of heartache, including family tragedies back in Utah. Her serious, longtime illness and untimely death -- it was two years before I learned of her passing -- have left me heartache of my own. I wish we could have chosen a different sort of contest.


06/19/21 04:20 PM #3    

Sam Thomas

So sad to see you go Bonnie. Such a sweet spirit taken too early. I so enjoyed your wit and sass and the times we spent together. Although our paths took different directions you were always in my heart dear friend. Rest well and we will meet again. 


06/20/21 10:28 AM #4    

Kathy Scharf

Rest in peace Bonnie.  Thank you Diane for sharing your skills, you brought her back to life for us.

Kathy


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