Bonnie O. Stanley, 96, of Wayne, died Friday, July 30, 2021 at Providence Medical Center in Wayne.
Services will be held Thursday, Aug. 5 at 10:30 a.m. at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Wayne. Visitation will be held Wednesday, Aug. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the church. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery in Wayne.
Memorials may be directed to Our Savior Lutheran Church and Wayne Volunteer Fire Department.
Arrangements are with Hasemann Funeral Home of Wayne.
Bonnell Oline ‘Bonnie’ Stanley was born Sept. 20, 1924 to Adam ‘Ed’ and Anna (Andersen) Grier on a farm 4.5 miles north of Wayne. She graduated from Wayne High in 1942. She studied briefly at the Norfolk College of Business but when she was offered a full time job at the Wayne Gamble Store she jumped at the opportunity. A year later she was offered a job at the Wayne City Clerk’s Office where she worked until she married Robert E. ‘Bob’ Stanley on Aug. 31, 1947 and became a farmer’s wife. Bob and Bonnie lived on several farms around Wayne. In 1951 their son, Douglas Robert, was born, followed by daughter Nancy Ann in 1954. In 1962 the Stanley family moved into Wayne where Bonnie began working for the superintendent of the Wayne Public Schools, a job she would keep until she retired 27 years later. Bob and Bonnie were married for 53 years but she lost Bob to a heart attack Dec. 11, 2000. It took years for her to get over her loss but she kept going, taking care of her friends, her house and rental property and her family. Her grandson, Matt, was especially dear to her and she delighted in hearing about his studies and adventures. She was baptized, confirmed and married in St. Paul’s Lutheran (now Our Savior Lutheran) Church and she and Bob served the church in many different capacities. She served on the board of Villa Wayne from 1990 to 2008 and worked for the Hasemann Funeral Home from 2002 to 2017.
The last few years of her life she slowed down a bit but, whenever she could, she’d be out picking up fallen branches, trimming bushes and even shoveling snow (when it wasn’t too heavy!) She loved her home and worked hard to stay there. Just a month before she died, she moved into an apartment at Country View Assisted Living, realizing that maybe life on just one floor did have certain advantages to a three story house. She loved her family, her friends, her home, milk (whole, no skim milk for her), big trees and dogs (as long as they were someone else’s). She had a kind heart and maintained her sense of humor to the very end.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Bob Stanley, in 2000; one brother, Don Grier; and various in-laws.
She is survived by daughter Nancy and son-in-law Tom Andersen of Denver, Colorado and their son Matt of Portland, Oregon; son Doug Stanley of Dallas, Texas; sisters-in-law Dorothy Boucher of Springfield, Oregon and June Stanley of Crawfordville, Florida; nieces, nephews and cousins, Pat Stanley, Mary (Dave) Thurman, Bill Stanley, Cathy (Jim) Bledsoe, Janet (Terry) Hudson, John (Marie) Manz, David (Janet) Manz, Debbie (Bob) Schroeder, Claudia (Don) Koeber, Monte (Katie) Niemann, Scott (Marilyn) Niemann, Shaun (Earla) Niemann, Craig Grier, Pam Rutherford, Debbie Brown, Bill (Betty) Reeg, Diane (Dean) Bruggeman and Garry Zour.
