Bonnie Delle Ellison

Bonnie spent her entire life confident of who she was and where she was going.

She was born April 27, 1926, in Powell, Texas to James Newell Gotcher and Mantha Belle (Thomason) Gotcher. She was the second of five children born to a sharecropper and his wife. At an early age she was working in the fields picking cotton and helping at home taking care of the younger children.

In 1949 she met the love of her life while selling movie tickets at the local movie theatre in Snyder, Texas. She agreed to marry the man from Oklahoma, but only if he would leave the oil field and his only condition was that they live in Oklahoma. On June 1, 1950 she and Glen began their life together. He brought her to Oklahoma with the promise that “the wind never blows in Oklahoma”. And in case you don’t know, Bonnie hated the wind and had a headscarf in every color imaginable. God blessed their marriage for over 50 years before Glen passed on October 10, 2000.

Two of the blessings from this union were a son, Don, and a daughter, Sherri. They began their family in a little house on 63rd Street with a horseshoe on the fence post for good luck. The house and horseshoe are still there north of French Market Mall at May and 63rd. But wanting more of a country life, the family moved to an acreage on Bryant Avenue south of Memorial Road. Bonnie spent her days taking care of the children and the bounty Glen raised in his garden. One of her proudest moments was when she won Melba’s Tasting Spoon Award from Melba at the Daily Oklahoman for her Barbecued Beef Loaves and Squash Casserole making use of Glen’s garden. Of course, she was always the homeroom mom for her kids at Lone Star School and Bible School Teacher at College Church of Christ. She and Glen were among the first that started the College Church of Christ in 1963 which met on the campus of Oklahoma Christian College, and is now known as Memorial Road Church of Christ. She hosted many college students from OCC on Sunday nights after church. They loved her “remind-you-of-home” cooking. She also hosted many gatherings of friends that always included food, laughter, and a game of Pitch, Hand & Foot or 42. She was a fierce competitor and was always able to tell if someone was cheating.

In the 1970s she began working for the Oklahoma City Public Schools Food Service preparing student lunches at John Marshall High School and Hoover Junior High. The opportunity arose for her to move to Edmond Public Schools, and after 16 years she retired from her final position of Manager of the Satellite Kitchen serving John Ross, Northern Hills, Will Rogers and Russell Dougherty Elementary Schools.

Shortly after her retirement from EPS, Bonnie developed a benign brain tumor that resulted in her having a stroke and under less than good odds survived the tumor removal and fought her way back to a full healthy life. In her later years she participated in water aerobics at Oklahoma Christian where she renewed many old friendships and made many new ones.

Bonnie took care of Glen as his health deteriorated over several years and was strong as she faced the last 18 years of her life without him. Bonnie spent the last 6 ½ years at Bradford Village Skilled Nursing Facility after breaking a hip and the subsequent surgeries that were required. We often wondered why she continued living as her generation passed on, but she was too busy taking care of people. She never asked to go home, she never complained about her circumstances, and she happily continued the life that God was blessing her with. She knew who she was and where she was going.

Bonnie is survived by her children, Don Ellison, Sherri Hooper and husband Doug all of Edmond, Oklahoma. Grandchildren: Robbie Hooper and wife Tiffany of Oklahoma City, and Mandy Nevius and husband Drew of Broken Arrow. And her wonderful great grandchildren: Winifred Darling Hooper, Cedar Michael Nevius and Willamae Briar Hooper. She is also survived by two sisters, Christine Garner and Jewell Rutherford both of Corsicana, Texas and many caring nieces and nephews.

To our Momma, our Grandma and our Grandma Bonnie: We love you and thank you for loving us so well.

Bonnie’s family would like to thank the Duane Shipman family for all of their care for Bonnie through the years and especially to Stacy who visited Bonnie weekly for over a decade. Momma loved you all very much.

And finally, thank you to the staff at Bradford Village that has loved on Bonnie for her final years on earth.