Bonnie June Krone

Bonnie Krone (Rhoads) was born in Ottawa, Kansas on June 14, 1931 to Alice Croyle Rhoads and Charles Rhoads. She passed on to her next life and adventure on November 28, 2025 at the age of 94. She grew up in Kansas with her older brother, Doug, and she was proud to be “a sunflower from the sunflower state,” the refrain to the song Sunflower, which she loved to sing. Like a sunflower, she brought light and beauty in a simple and kind way to the lives of everyone who knew her.

When she was young, she helped out in her dad’s general store, and, after graduating from High School, she went to nurse’s training at Kansas University Medical Center. There, she found a group of kindred spirits among the nurses, young women who bonded with and cared deeply for one another through the rest of their lives. Bonnie was encouraged by doctors who admired her smarts and knack for medicine to become a doctor. She said “that would have totally screwed up my life, glad I didn’t do that.” Bonnie and a band of her nursing buddies decided to head west to California. They worked at hospitals along their route. They made it to Denver when they disbanded due to many becoming married along the way.

Bonnie married Charles Krone in 1955, a happy young bride to a powerful presence. Charlie was the lightning bolt matched to her as the grounding rod. Together they raised three children (Pam, Keith and Brian) whom they brought up first in Kansas City and then in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bonnie was a Public Health nurse for the City of Cincinnati, a job she loved because she was helping young families. She and Charlie, along with 11 families in Cincinnati, built a strong community of friends by buying a farm in Indiana which they ran together. In shared work like bringing in the hay, building fences, rounding up an escaped bull, and holding fun family workshops, these families built bonds that sustained them as lifelong friends. Charlie and Bonnie moved to Carmel near Point Lobos in 1978 and lived in that home for the rest of their lives.

Bonnie was a wonderful mother, always loving, helpful, understanding and lenient. She had a wry sense of humor and a playful way of living. She loved holidays, decorating the table and shopping for Christmas presents. Her favorite time in life was being a grandmother to her three grandchildren (Becky, Clayton and Jason). She generously loved and cared for all of them, making each feel special, appreciated and happy. Everyone who knew Bonnie appreciated her kind and joyful spirit and her way of including everyone in her circle. At her request, please send any donations in Bonnie’s memory toward supporting children in need, at your discretion.