As I have shared with Bonnie's husband, Jim Bell, I was out of the country when she passed away. But, learning this on our return, really hit Robert and me hard. Bonnie was one of those rare people who you may not see for, literally, 45 years, and yet pick up with as if it were yesterday -- same great sense of humor, thoughtful reflections on what's happening today, and positive energy. Bonnie and I were friends from Crocker Junior High (she lived just down Land Park Dr) through McClatchy graduation and her parents and mine knew one another. Bonnie's mom Margorie was a frequent substitute choir teacher in our junior high and high school years. Bonnie married Mike Stuart in their college years, but I didn't see her again until I moved to San Francisco in retirement in 2005 thanks to Barry Kauffman who had kept in touch with us both over the years. I hope it doesn't sound superficial, but Bonnie was always fun to be with; gracious, she enhanced every encounter -- at her lovely home in the Berkeley Hills, at our place in SF, or elsewhere in the Bay area. Not many folks I can say that about. And, she and Jim are the only people I know who managed to maintain a loving relationship over 40 years and build a highly successful business together. Exceptional. She is survived by her loving Jim and an extended family. A life well-lived.
Steven Baker
As I have shared with Bonnie's husband, Jim Bell, I was out of the country when she passed away. But, learning this on our return, really hit Robert and me hard. Bonnie was one of those rare people who you may not see for, literally, 45 years, and yet pick up with as if it were yesterday -- same great sense of humor, thoughtful reflections on what's happening today, and positive energy. Bonnie and I were friends from Crocker Junior High (she lived just down Land Park Dr) through McClatchy graduation and her parents and mine knew one another. Bonnie's mom Margorie was a frequent substitute choir teacher in our junior high and high school years. Bonnie married Mike Stuart in their college years, but I didn't see her again until I moved to San Francisco in retirement in 2005 thanks to Barry Kauffman who had kept in touch with us both over the years. I hope it doesn't sound superficial, but Bonnie was always fun to be with; gracious, she enhanced every encounter -- at her lovely home in the Berkeley Hills, at our place in SF, or elsewhere in the Bay area. Not many folks I can say that about. And, she and Jim are the only people I know who managed to maintain a loving relationship over 40 years and build a highly successful business together. Exceptional. She is survived by her loving Jim and an extended family. A life well-lived.