Bonnie Black

Bonnie Black, 71, passed away December 25, 2018, at Pioneer Manor Nursing Home in Hay Springs, NE. On June 8, 1947, a little girl named Bonne Dolly was born to Percy and Florence Black in Kadoka, SD. She joined an older brother Howard and a few years later her younger brother Jim was born. Bonnie grew up in Hisle, SD, until she was six years old when the family moved to Martin. There Bonnie attended school, developing her love of reading. She graduated from Bennett County High School in 1967.

Living out in the country, Bonnie remembers very special times of taking walks with her Dad and loving the animals—cats, dogs and horses. She especially enjoyed the kitties. Bonnie attended Sunday school and church regularly, learning all the Bible stories. This proved very helpful in later years as she faithfully taught her Sunday school children those same old and wonderful stories.

Following high school, Bonnie worked in the janitorial department at the Martin Hospital. A few years later, she and her brother Jim moved into Rushville with their mother. Bonnie worked in the Dietary Department at the Rushville Hospital, while caring for her Mother and Jim. Through the years Bonnie has been a caregiver for her father, mother, uncle and brother Jim.

Dudek’s Christian Bookshelf in Gordon was a favorite place for Bonnie to shop for her beloved books and Bible study materials. She purchased many pretty and thoughtful bookmarks, as well, to give as gifts to her church and Bible Study friends. She and Jim liked to eat out and had their favorite restaurants in each neighboring town. They loved watching movies and had quite an extensive collection of videos. Besides reading, Bonnie spent her free time crocheting and sewing.

Bonnie was so excited when she bought her fist pickup! The brother and sister team took several trips to the Black Hills and a couple of big ones. One trip was to the Salt Lake area and the other was a long-awaited trip to Missouri to visit Laura Ingalls Wilder’s birthplace (Laura was a favorite author of Bonnie’s).

Bonnie had a very large collection of Teddy Bears. She provided a couple of programs for Pioneer Manor residents by sharing part of this collection. Bonnie was a faithful employee of Pioneer Manor in the Dietary Department for 19 years! Her supervisor, Margaret Osborn, says “Bonnie was very easy to work with…she was always on time and very dependable. Always nice to the residents and her co-workers. Only once did she call in needing the day off…her house had burned down during the night!”

Bonnie and Jim faithfully attended a Hay Springs weekly Bible Study. Bonnie was very meticulous in everything she did. She was known for carefully and neatly filling out her Bible Study lesson sheets and she was the one who would always come up with the catchiest title for each chapter.

Faithful is a good word to describe Bonnie—faithful to her family, her jobs, her church and her Bible Studies, and to her Lord.

She is survived by her brothers Howard and wife Marion Farleigh and Jim Black; her niece and nephews Scott and Rebecca Farleigh and Stephanie & Rocky Noyes and cousin Charlene Stapp and family.

Memorial services will be held Saturday, January 5, 2019 at 11:00 AM, at Chamberlain-Pier Funeral Home in Gordon, NE.