Rosie Marie Bonham

Marie went to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the same date that her beloved sister, Dorothy Mitchell, passed away eight years earlier.

Marie was born March 15, 1940, to Birt Lucille Robbins Clayton and Alfred Blake Clayton in Waurika, Oklahoma. She grew up on a farm in Jefferson County, Oklahoma, with three siblings. She and Landon Wilson “Will” Bonham were married June 8, 1957, at Irving Baptist Church in Jefferson County. She lived most of her life in Wichita Falls and Dean, Texas.

Marie had a kind heart and loved to spend time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She enjoyed socializing with her friends from the 50 Plus Zone, playing bingo, watching karaoke, listening to live music, traveling and being kind to one and all.

She was a wonderful mother who loved us with all her being, raised us on a shoestring, could make a meal out of almost nothing, celebrated our birthdays with homemade layer cakes and cooked massive holiday meals.

She raised us while working first as a factory worker and then as a beautician. She graduated from Midwestern State University on Dec. 20, 1989, with a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting. She returned to college and became a registered nurse on Jan. 31, 1995.

She touched many lives in her nursing career. Marie worked until she was 70, retiring from United Regional Health Care System in 2010 on the heels of an economic downturn. Marie set a very nice example of how to reinvent yourself and how to snag retirement from the jaws of a recession.

In her later years, Marie was a friend, a lively companion and an adventurous travelling buddy — who went up in a hot air balloon, traveled to Thailand and landed on an Alaskan glacier in a helicopter, among many other trips with family members.

Her sense of humor, kindness and intelligence made her a pleasure to be around. She was always our biggest cheerleader and supporter.

She was preceded in death by her husband; grandson Joel Ray Mills; sisters Dorothy Mitchell and Bertha Coleman; brother Alfred “Pete” Clayton Jr.; and her parents.

She is survived by her four children, Pamela Rotz and husband Cecil of Wichita County; Julie Mills of Wichita Falls; Gary Bonham and wife Aleta of North Richland Hills; and Trish Choate of Dean; her grandchildren, Meradith, Morgan, Megan, Scott, Melissa, Amber, Marlaina, Cassie, Joshua, Mary Beth, Rebekah, Cody, Kari, Lindsey, Brandon and Denise; and numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life service for Marie will be 2 p.m. Thursday, July 31, 2025, at Hampton Vaughan Crestview Funeral Home, 1917 Archer City Highway, in Wichita Falls. Graveside service will follow at Hampton Vaughan Crestview Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Hospice of Wichita Falls.