Anne Elizabeth "Betty" Whitefield Bonner

Betty Bonner passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, the 14th of June 2020, with her family by her side. A native Houstonian, Betty was born on the 23rd of January 1928, to Mr. and Mrs. Franklin W. Whitefield. She attended Roberts Elementary, Lanier Jr. High, and Lamar High School in Houston, and continued her education at Weslayan College, SMU, and Boston University.

Betty married the love of her life, John S. Bonner III, in 1948, and their family began with the surprising birth of triplets, Barbara Rountree, John F. Bonner, and Marybeth Wimberly, while living in Pasadena, CA during John’s graduate studies. They soon brought their new brood back to Houston where John began his career, since in his words it was “time to stop learning and start earning”, and they later added to the family with their daughters Melissa Hall and Louisa Bonner.

Betty leaves her family with a legacy of warm and colorful memories that demonstrate her and John’s adventurous spirit and love for their family and each other. Their many travel experiences included annual bareboat sailing trips in the BVIs, which also featured scuba diving, underwater photography, and creative concoctions of rum drinks; travel via John’s twin-engine airplane, which barely contained the whole family; and trips to many off-the-beaten-path destinations. At home, Betty instilled in her daughters her passion for cooking and sharing a great meal, and her grandchildren continue this legacy with their love of experimenting in the kitchen. She allowed a menagerie of animals to be brought home at her daughters’ whims, even hosting a veritable village of turtles, named “A” through “Z”, on the patio. The family enjoyed weekends on their sailboat “Tumbleweed” at Houston Yacht Club on Galveston Bay, and excursions to Betty’s parents’ farm in Montgomery County. Betty learned to hunt at age 60, and she single-handedly field-dressed her first deer as John read instructions out loud from a book and held a flashlight for her.

In their retirement, Betty and John moved to Wimberley TX, and enjoyed more than 35 years of Hill Country living, graciously welcoming family and friends into their home. Las Campanas Ranch was the site of Betty’s annual “Camp Bonner” week for her grandchildren; holiday weekends with family and dogs filling the house; New Year’s Eve greeted with bubbles overflowing the hot tub; an epic Y2K celebration; and numerous scout campouts, reunions, house parties, and retreats. In between all the activity, they enjoyed countless hours of peaceful moments beside the Blanco River and savoring every sunset view from the deck overlooking the valley. They moved to The Hallmark in 2009, and they lived their later years among many life-long friends back in Houston.

Betty’s life was characterized by her putting her faith in God and Christ into action. She and John were members of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Houston, and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wimberley, and she held many different roles of devoted service in both congregations.

Betty took great pride and joy in her grandchildren: Virginia Evans, John Reynolds, Melissa Wimberly, Bonner Baldwin, Hallie Wimberly, Eliza Cartwright, Isaac Arnold IV, Caitlin Hall, Jack Hernandez, and Hunter Hernandez; and her eight great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband John, and her brother, Ben Taylor Whitefield.

The family would like to thank Lupe Escalante and Brittni Patterson for their loving care in her final years.

Arrangements for a memorial service are pending and will be announced at a later date. In the interim you may opt to receive updated service information by selecting the "Receive Notification" icon below.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be made in Betty’s memory to Reach Unlimited, where her son, John F. Bonner, resides at 11832 Mueller Cemetery Rd., Ste. 200, Cypress, TX 77429 (reachunlimited.org/support/); and to The Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks Blvd., Houston, TX 77019 (sjd.org/give/gifts-memorials/).