Bonnie Jean Speicher, 90, passed away peacefully January 15, 2024 at Hubbard Hill in Elkhart, IN.

She was born on January 20, 1933 in Elizabeth, Indiana to Ruby and Edgar Morgan. Her husband, Donald Speicher, preceded her in death in 2016. Bonnie was also preceded in death by her three sisters, Pearl, Ruth, and Darlene, and her brother, Kenneth, as well as step-son, Craig Speicher, and grandson Phillip Sonner.

Surviving is her grateful family: Children--Bonean (Bud) Gore, Brent (Kathleen) Sonner, William (Lori) Sonner, (Craig) Sue Speicher, Brenda (Jay) Howard, and Randall Speicher. Grandchildren-- Sarah Baum, Molly Hanson, Kathryn Sonner, Samantha Sonner, Jaclyn Stamatovich, Kassandra Keller, Nathan Courtney, Vanessa Courtney, Cassidy Brown, Joshua Greiner, Jonathon Greiner, Hannah Sonner, Nathaniel Sonner, and Isaac Speicher, Jonathan Speicher, Abby Mccord, Amalia Howard, Dylan Howard, Aleyna Mitchell, Allison Speicher, Dominic Nipper, and Gabriel Speicher, and 21 great grandchildren!

A Celebration of Bonnie's life will be held at Zion Missionary Church, 1135 E. Hively Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517 on Friday, January 26, 2024 at 1:00pm preceded by visitation at 11:00am. Memorial gifts may be made to Zion Missionary Church. Billings Funeral Home, 812 Baldwin St., Elkhart, IN 46514 is assisting the family. For those that wish to send a condolence, share a memory or order flowers, they may do so at www.billingsfuneralhome.com.

BONNIE'S LIFE STORY

Bonnie and her family made it through the Great Depression on their small farm in the middle of Posey township in Harrison County in Southern Indiana. The family was tightly knit, working together to get vegetables and fruit to market every week along with caring for the other farm tasks.

Bonnie attended Elizabeth school and moved to Elkhart in the early 50's. Ever the hard worker, she raised 3 children--Bonean, Brent, and Bill--was an amazing cook and homemaker, always setting a good example of doing things right, being kind, and respectful. Starting in 1968 she worked for Moore's Time-Saving Equipment in Elkhart for 32 years in positions ranging from secretary to bookkeeper, to Chief Customer Service representative, communicating and coordinating sales and deliveries of huge carpet handling machines with companies here in the US, Canada, and many European countries.

Bonnie was an avid sports fan, often in the stands or bleachers following the Jefferson Tigers or the Northridge Raiders basketball, cheerleaders, and baseball teams. She was at every event imaginable following her children's and grandchildren's musical and sporting events. Bonnie was always active in her church, first at Simpson United Methodist Church in Elkhart, and later at Zion Missionary Church. It was at Zion that she met Donald Speicher and on September 23, 2000, they were married, adding children Craig, Brenda, and Randy to the family. The next 16 years were a new larger chapter of grandparenting, now that their family had doubled in size. They also traveled to many vacation spots and went on cruises together as Boyfriend and Girlfriend, as they often called each other. Trips to visit family were interspersed with numerous Church projects, working at Prairie camp, and helping others in the surrounding community, making "Giving" of their time and resources a central theme of their marriage together. Bonnie and Don rarely, if ever, uttered the words, "No, we can't."

We'd be remiss if we failed to mention Bonnie's famous butterhorn rolls, which she never thought were just right--even though they always disappeared in a single meal, her Christmas cookies, and, of course, her peanut butter fudge that had to be mixed with extreme care, stirring force, and precise timing. She was also a big fan and collector of Peanuts characters memorabilia with Snoopy being her favorite! She also never met a bowl of "Chief" ice cream or a Hershey's milk chocolate bar she didn't like!! Over the last few weeks as word of Bonnie's failing health was becoming known, many people expressed their fond memories of how kind, welcoming, and caring she and Don were. Mom had a huge heart and plenty of love and caring to share with those around her. One thing for certain, even though she has left us for now, she was and will always,..., always be there.

Zion Missionary Church
1135 East Hively Avenue, Elkhart IN 46517
Tel: 1-574-293-5541
Web: http://www.zionmc.org