Bonnie Rae Bradbury

December 29, 1948 - March 12, 2023

Bonnie Rae Bradbury, beloved wife, mother and grandmother, won her 30-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease at Rock Creek in Ottawa on March 12, 2023. She was 74 years old.

Bonnie was born Dec. 29, 1948, in Yates Center, the daughter of Al and Irma Stowe. She spent the first five years of her life near her dearly loved grandparents, Floyd and Jewel Rogers. At five years of age, she moved with her parents and brother to Fort Scott, where she attended K-8th grade. She graduated from Humboldt High School in 1966.

Bonnie worked for Southwestern Bell and attended Independence Community College graduating in May 1968. She met her husband, Dotson, while attending college. They were married Dec. 30, 1968, at the First Christian Church in Independence. Bonnie and Dotson spent the next three years living in Frankfurt, Germany, where Dotson was stationed with the U.S. Army. Bonnie worked at American Express while living there and was able to travel all over Europe. From this marriage, they raised two children.

Bonnie earned both a bachelor's and a master’s degree from Pittsburg State University. Bonnie was a beloved preschool and kindergarten teacher in Eureka before retiring to help take care of her grandchildren. Bonnie was involved in P.E.O. and the Red Hat Ladies. She enjoyed playing dominoes, BINGO and the rare nickel slot. She loved attending her children's and grandchildren’s events. She also served on various community and library boards and helped with projects in every community where she resided.

Bonnie will be remembered as a compassionate, kind, and hardworking woman that always tried to bring out the positive in every situation. She saw the good in everything and everyone. Her family and friends were proud to call her daughter, sister, wife, aunt, mother, grandma and friend; the lasting impact she left on those who knew and loved her cannot be measured. Her legacy will live on in the positive impact she had on her former students and the grandchildren she adored.

Bonnie was baptized at the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Fort Scott during her youth. In recent years, she became a member of the First Methodist Church in Pomona.

Bonnie was preceded in death by her father, Al Stowe, and dear friends Stan and Linda Mitchell.

Survivors: husband Dotson Bradbury; mother Irma Stowe of Yates Center; children Ryan (Emily) Bradbury of Wellsville, Laura Bradbury of Longmont, Colo.; three grandchildren, Kyle Bradbury, Cassie Bradbury and Sophia Jensen; brother Roger (Terry) Stowe of Saint Paul, Minnesota; brother-in-law Earl (Sharon) Bradbury; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 17, at Town Hall in Yates Center, KS. Interment will follow at the Yates Center Cemetery. Visitation and lunch will be held at Town Hall immediately after. Jones – Campbell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, the family has established a memorial that will be used for classroom books at Marshall Elementary in Eureka. Memorial donations can be sent in care of Jones – Campbell, PO Box 188, Yates Center, KS 66783.

(Published in the Linn County Journal on March 14, 2023)