Bonnie Gail Hamblin Vaden went to her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Thursday, August 18, 2022, after a long and hard-fought battle with cancer. Never complaining, always looking for the “silver lining” in every aspect of life, she leaves her family, friends and anyone who knew her with a renewed sense of hope because of the life she chose to live in spite of her circumstances. Her greatest hope was that everyone would know and accept Jesus as their personal Savior.
Born on November 19, 1940, to Earl and Jennie Fowinkle Hamblin, in Memphis, TN, she was second oldest of six children. The daughter of a Southern Baptist minister, she grew up in a large, loving, and Christian home, surrounded by a large extended family who always made life fun.
After moving to Memphis from her parents’ home in Savannah, TN, Bonnie met her first husband, Jimmy Chavis, and they married in January 1961. After relocating to Texas and then Virginia, Bonnie began her career in Medical Records at the local hospital. She continued her career after moving back to Memphis in 1974, first working at Campbell Clinic and then moving on to the Baptist Memorial Hospital in the Memphis medical center. She finished her career in Health Information Management at Baptist East, retiring in 2002.
On May 5, 1985, Bonnie married the love of her life and best friend, Norman Chester Vaden, Jr. They moved to Byhalia, MS, shortly after their wedding, where they purchased a piece of land with a house and transformed it into a beautiful home with gardens that would eventually be deemed a certified bird sanctuary. Bonnie and Norman invested many untold hours in their yard, because of their mutual love of birds and plant life. Their love for each other is evident all around the home they built together.
Bonnie was a member of Meadowbrook Baptist Church, the Byhalia Garden Club and Byhalia Area Arts Council. Bonnie’s artistic ability was exceptional and vast. Her paintings are beautiful, treasured and admired by all who see them. She also was a master at porcelain dollmaking for many years, belonging to Southern Belles Doll Club and winning countless awards because of her exceptional talent in the field. Her favorites were antique reproduction and I guess you could say that was her forte. To all her knew her and her enormous talent, there will be a void that will be difficult if not impossible to fill.
Her love for ancestry led Bonnie to discover family on the other side of the world, and she was instrumental in connecting American relatives to their counterparts in Nierstein, Germany. In 2010, she helped facilitate a reunion of the descendants of four brothers, and those relationships continue to this day. All of our lives have been magnified by the work that Bonnie did on our behalf, and we have her to thank for the love we share with family we didn’t know existed before then. We will be forever in her debt for generations to come.
Bonnie was preceded in death by her parents, her grandson, Evan Michael Murphy, and her sister, Earlene Hamblin Sweatt. She is survived by her beloved husband of 37 years, Norman C. Vaden, Jr; her daughters, Robin Chavis Murphy (Michael), Janis Chavis Floyd (James); her stepsons, Norman C. “Trey” Vaden, III (Cassi), Roy Vaden; her grandchildren, Taylor Murphy, Stephen McKinney, Morgan McKinney, David McKinney, Chandler Murphy (Erin), Garrett McKinney, Tanner Floyd, Jakob Vaden, Peyton Murphy, Cassidy Floyd, and Mason Vaden; her sisters Audrey Staten, Jackie Gaines (Jerry), Sharon Barnes (Raymond), brother Tim Hamblin (Pam), and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
A Celebration of Life will take place on August 27, 2022, with visitation at 1:00 pm, immediately followed by a service at 2:00 pm, at Brantley Funeral Home, 6875 Cockrum Street, Olive Branch, MS. A reception will follow at the home of her daughter, Janis, at 7286 N Bolton Heights Cove, Arlington. We invite all family and friends to come and celebrate the beautiful life of Bonnie, with fellowship and love that she would have wanted.
The service will be streamed live on the Brantley Funeral Home Facebook page. There will also be a link for the livestream on Mrs. Vaden’s obituary page at brantleyfuneral.com.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to American Cancer Society or Meadowbrook Baptist Church.
