Beatrice Bonney

Betty (Beatrice) Scanlon Bonney was born on March 4, 1933, in Wenatchee, WA, to Richard and Alice Scanlon of Seattle, WA.

When she was a very young girl, her father Richard was transferred back to Seattle. Betty lived there the rest of her childhood and teen years. She graduated in 1951 from West Seattle High School in the top of her class.

She married Gerald Bonney on June 14, 1952, also of Seattle. She raised three children, Erin (Bonney) Downward, Shannon (Bonney) Watson, and Colin Bonney. She left three grandchildren, Rachel and Sarah Watson, and Isabella Burke-Bonney. She also was a grandmother to Shannons’ stepchildren, Alicia and Brandon, and Great Grandmother to Alicia’s children, Lola and Emmy.

The Bonney’s lived in Bellevue, WA for many years. As a wife and mother, Betty also loved continued education and working. Once her children were in school, she followed her dream to get a degree at Bellevue Community College (BCC). She graduated with a 2-year AA Secretarial Degree at age 43, again in the top of her class. Her career led her to several different businesses working in Human Resources. Her favorite job was working as an executive secretary for a private software company until she retired.

In her 20’s she loved to oil paint. But due to allergies she sadly gave that up. Eventually her new hobbies became researching her and Jerry’s family trees on Ancestry.com as well as making miniature scenes. She has two photo albums of pictures of miniatures she has made for family and friends, plus some she made just for her. She also won ribbons for them at different events. She so loved that hobby that she was still making them right up to her passing (with the help of others by then). Her creativity never left her.

She had always wanted to be a writer. She took English and writing classes, at BCC for years. Under the name “Lee King,” she wrote and published several books that can be found on Amazon.com. She was still transcribing a couple of new books before her passing. She asked Erin to finish them if at all possible.

As a widow and ready for an adventure, Betty moved with her daughter Erin to No. California. After a couple years, she decided she missed Washington. The last two years of her life, she lived at the home of her daughter, Shannon on Camano Island, WA. Her daughters Erin and Shannon were with her holding her hand while she quietly passed of natural causes on August 28, 2025. Colin was able to visit two weeks before her passing.

She had a strong will to live but time catches up; she was very tired and is now at peace. We are so thankful that we were able to be with her until and when she passed. Betty was 92.

Mom, we hope you have found Dad, Grandma and Grandpa. Please watch over us until we see you again. Love to you forever! Shannon, Erin and Colin

We thought it would be nice to share a couple of memories that reminded us of mom.

Erin: Mom had always wanted a horse. Being raised in the city, that was out of the question. One day I came home and told her about a horse I found that was very sick, but with some care could be my dream horse. She offered to help me buy him, and I made a sign to go over his stall door listing us as co-owners. Without her help that would have never happened. I will be forever grateful that we were able to share that dream. Eventually, I bought her share out, but she said she always felt like he was still hers anyway. Early on we found out he had been a champion show horse. She would come to our horse shows and dream about riding him too. When he passed away, she had a local artist paint his portrait so that we could always remember him beautiful, healthy, and in an open field. That portrait has travelled with me through all my life’s journeys.

We also took a trip to Florida to “do” Disney World in 1990. We were there for a week, saw many things, and one day drove from Orlando northwest, over to the east coast and finished at southeast at Coco Beach. Our goal was to be standing in the Atlantic Ocean as the sun went down that day. We made it!

Mom, thank you for sharing your creativeness, love of education, love of trivia, the history of our family, trips to the ocean, and yes… your love of cats. (I have four and one was yours). - Erin

Shannon: The best memory I have is how she supported me through my teen years, and my love of horses (thanks to my sister). I think one of the reasons she kept working was to support my habit, which probably kept me out of a lot of trouble. I still managed to find some, but we won’t relive those little incidents.

Driving me and my friends to the barn, watching me at my horse shows, and all the expenses that came with ownership. She was determined to let me have my dream too. As she did with my sister before me, she continued living her dreams through me, attending my horse shows and events as well. The love of horses turned into a family tradition. I still have two of them.

Another fond memory is our love of our dog Laddy. Mom was church secretary at the private school I attended. One afternoon, one of the parents was picking up her kids after school. She had a stray puppy that needed a home. He was part Collie/part German Shepard. Since we watched Lassie every morning before school, it was love at first sight for us both. We had to work on Dad, but we won the battle. Lad was the best dog we ever had. To this day we still have a stuffed animal that looks just like him.

I am so thankful that I was adopted and grew up with my sister and brother. I will forever be thankful that Betty was my mom. She will be remembered for her love for her family, creativity, and her cats.

I promise mom, that when I have more time, I will read all your books. - Shannon

Colin: Remembering Mom, as a child I was glued to her, afraid of the world. She was always there. As I grew older and ventured out from her nest, she was still there with eyes that I could not see. I remember the time she turned from Mama bird to Mama Bear.

While in high school I fell asleep in English class. The teacher said I would never amount to anything but a gas station attendant. When I told mom, she marched down to the school and tore apart the principle and teacher. It was awesome. I never saw her do anything like that. That was usually my dad’s type of move. I grew up to have a successful career and have traveled the world because of it.

She was always a great inspiration to do well in school. While at WSU she came out for Mom’s weekend. That was really the only time we shared a one on one and, was one of the best times I had with her. We laughed, cried and joked. She told me how proud she was of me. I’ll never forget that time.

Later in life I realized the greatest gift was that they gave me air to breathe, grow and to make my own path. In the hardest times she was there with meaningful advice that steered me on the right path. I will never be able to repay that debt.

Thank you Mom, you taught me well. - LYG Bubby