Bonnie Dixon Bonner

Garner- Bonnie Bonner, 78, ‘the Waving Grandma’, bargain shopper, chocolate cake lover, hard-smacking hugger and expert story teller, died Sunday October 13, 2013 of COPD. Bonnie is survived by her best friend and loving husband of 55 years, Larry Bonner, and their four grown children. Bonnie, born Bonnelle Jean Dixon in October of 1934 was the spirited red-headed daughter of the late Mervin and Alice Dixon of Rochester, Minnesota. She spent her early years pushing bullies to the ground, sitting on the rope swing under her enormous oak tree and trying not to get her dresses wet while wading in streams. In her childhood years, Bonnie was the glaring, stare-down little sister of Donna Adams. They grew up to become friends. (Good thing too, because they’re together now in heaven, where noogies and purple herbies are not allowed.) Bonnie spent most of her life being loved by her husband Larry. Her strong will and refusal to understand his jokes made her irresistible. (Her awesome beauty helped a little too.) Together they created a genetically-engineered comedic family that can’t resist a good one-liner. Bonnie is survived by 4 children (Carol, Nancy, Tom and Rick), 2 sons-in-law, 1 daughter-in-law, 11 grandchildren, 3 grandchildren-in-law, 3 great grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren-in-utero. Despite their numerous infractions and inappropriate humor, Bonnie believed every person in her family to be perfect in every way. And, it was pointless to disagree with her, so no one did. Bonnie loved a lot. She loved picking up her grandchildren in her convertible and tangling their hair up in the wind. She loved watching her grandsons baseball games, college basketball games and Russell Wilson playing football. She loved enormous old oak trees like they were old friends. Bonnie loved the clouds, mostly those that looked like men. She loved Shirley Temple movies (except those with bossy grown-ups) and she loved Adam Sandler movies. She loved to listen to the music of simple, honest, home-town boys like Josh Turner and Scotty McCreery… who have both been entered on her honorary grandson list. She loved bananas and cinnamon rolls and cheesy eggs. She loved to go to the Waffle House and ask for pancakes. She loved cows (at least until the word got out and her family flooded her house with cow-themed presents and turned her kitchen into a total cowtastrophe.) She loved playing Spider Solitaire, going out to eat at fast-food restaurants and going on a Sunday drives every day of the week. She loved a clean, organized house with brightly colored plastic flowers arranged in baskets on her front porch. She loved to wear a white shirt with brownie crumbs on it, a $3 pair of tennis shoes and a comfortable pair of pants. Bonnie loved the simple things… hard. But mostly, Bonnie loved her family in such a way that each one of them knew without a doubt that they were loved. She taught them to end every goodbye with, I love you. In honor of Bonnie, there will be a gathering of family and friends this Wednesday, October 16th, 2013 at 3:00 at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, 1200 Benson Road in Garner, NC. Flowers are certainly welcome, however you might consider planting a tree or taking your family out for dinner and a Sunday drive. Bonnie would love that.