Bonnie Dee Taylor

Bonnie Dee (Sanders) Taylor was born to Arden Mitchell and Christina Margaret (Hunt) Sanders in a clapboard house on the family farm in Paradise, Kansas in the middle of a blizzard. Her feet were so cold that her father held them all night to keep them warm. Her parents told her that it was a miracle she survived.

She spent the first chapter of her life in Kansas, living first in Paradise and then McPherson. Her parents moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1944. Bonnie stayed behind, living with a friend so that she could graduate from high school with her friends.

In 1945, she joined her family in Tacoma where she later met Robert Taylor. They were married at Little Church on the Prairie in 1947. The family, which included two children, lived in Stockton, California, and Nampa, Idaho as Bob was transferred with his company. After the company closed, they moved back to Washington.

While her children were growing up, her life centered around family, school activities and church. When her daughter started college, she did too, graduating five years later with a degree in education. She taught 5th grade for nearly 20 years before retiring in 1991.

After retirement, she spent her time volunteering at her church and hanging out with her friends, children and grandchildren. For many years, she was active in a prayer group, a writing group and a bridge club. She enjoyed going to plays, eating dinners out with friends and attending the occasional prayer and/or writing conference.

In later years, she was no longer able to comfortably live alone and moved to University House in Issaquah. After breaking her leg, she moved to Mission Healthcare in Bellevue, where she peacefully passed away early one morning. The family wishes to thank the staff at Mission Healthcare for their loving care the last two years of her life.

She was preceded in death by her husband of nearly 40 years, her son, Michael, and her brother, Duane. She leaves behind a brother, sister, daughter, daughter-in-law and many nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins and friends.

A memorial service will be held at the Gig Harbor United Methodist Church on Saturday, March 4 at 1:00 p.m. Interment will be at a later date at Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Bellevue, Washington.

If you wish to honor her memory, the family asks that you spread joy, embrace diversity and give to the charity of your choice.