WE MET AS LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR WRITERS in The Herald in the late 1980s. I remember seeing her name in print on various letters and issues in town and one day we met at Raley’s. In no time at all she invited me to be the organizer for the Poet’s Tree at Arts in the Park. I did it for several years, would arrive with a poster, a display of Robert Frost’s poetry books and others, Jack London books too, and then tie my poems to strings and float them in the trees and invite others to do the same. Eventually I let this activity pass on to others. I supported Bonnie graphically with a variety of fliers and loved roaming around her studio in the Arsenal. One year I brought our daughter Cathy there to meet Bonnie and see how another artist and educator works.

When Bonnie asked me to be a part of the Third of July parade up First Street one year, my first response was, “No, that’s too much work.” But when she said the theme was “Hats off to the Arts,” I agreed. In later years I became part of her support force, her volunteer handyman and driver to events and medical appointments. Janice for a while was also her caregiver. Bonnie, you were an artistic force, an asset to all of us, and this community will miss you immensely.

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