Bonnie "Yvonne" Knotts

The family plans a graveside service at Floral Hills Cemetery in Kansas City, MO.

Bonnie is survived by her husband Harley, 4 sons and their wives; Don and Rita of Independence, Terry and Susan of Divide, Colorado, Randy and Kathy of Liberty, Missouri, and Jim and Renee’ of Independence. She also leaves many nieces and nephews.

Bonnie was born September 6, 1928 in Independence, MO to Charles Jason Place and V. Merle Place. She was the youngest of 5 children; Robert (died as a child), Cavela (deceased), Darlene Hamer (deceased), and Garland (deceased). She lived her life in the Independence area. In 1946, she graduated from Northeast High School and soon after married Harley Knotts. They were married 71 years and together had four sons, 8 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren.

During her working years, away from the home, she was employed by Sears for more than 25 years. Most of the time she worked in the buyer’s office.

She enjoyed many activities in her long life. Collecting started at an early age and she saved and passed down many old tools, household items, and other useful things from her parents and other ancestors. Bonnie also collected plates and figurines. After visiting mom, children and grandchildren have been taking home boxes of special treasures for many years.

On the creative side, she did ceramics for many years and enjoyed sewing. She gardened, fed the birds, and kept a beautiful home, inside and out.

Bonnie also enjoyed travelling and the family spent many summer vacations camping in parks around the country. Later, she and Harley spent their winters in Arizona and were often joined by kids and grandkids. They cruised the Panama Canal and also went to Alaska. More recently, it was not unusual for the couple to take off and drive to Nevada for a few days, or take a daytrip to southern Missouri.

She truly excelled as a baker. Her cookies were a specialty, along with pecan pies and brownies. They were loved by everyone, and children, grandchildren and great grandchildren knew there would be cookies at every family gathering. Repairmen would rather work for her cookies than money. They were that good.

Bonnie and Harley spent many years tracing family history. Her family can be traced back to the 1,500’s. After thousands of hours of research Bonnie was able to assemble enough information to write a book. It is a complete family history with many photographs documenting the people and the places along the way. It will be appreciated for generations to come.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make donations to the St. Luke’s Hospice House, Kansas City, Missouri. You may also consider volunteering your time with them.