Bonita Wolf De Trinis

Bonnie was born on October 12, 1943 in Buffalo, NY, the daughter of the late Peter and Gladys Wolf.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Jim Wolf.

She was a graduate of St. Mary’s High School in Lancaster, NY. Following graduation, she entered the convent to train to become a Catholic sister and teacher. Bonnie studied Education, English and Latin at Sienna Heights University and graduated with a Bachelors of Arts. At the age of 17 she taught her first second grade class. While in the convent, she lived and taught in various places throughout the U.S.- including Rockdale, IL, Grafton, WV and Miami, FL.

While living in Miami, FL she met the love of her life, Randall, while teaching at a Catholic School. Much to the chagrin of her family and the Catholic Church they were soon married. While in Florida they adopted their first son, Johnny. John was one of Bonnie’s students and Randall was his case worker. They later moved to Brevard, NC where Randall opened a nursery and Bonnie continued teaching. While living in Brevard, they gave birth to their second son, Joel. When their son, Joel, turned four they decided to leave North Carolina and return to Florida. Bonita began teaching at St. Elizabeth Seton in Golden Gate and later transferred in to the public school system where she stayed until 1993. She made lasting friendships while in Florida and was in contact with many of them until her death.

During the summer of 1993, Bonnie and Randy decided they wanted to return to the mountains that they loved so much and moved to Sherando, VA. Bonita continued to teach in the public school system, make friends and enjoy life.

Bonita retired from teaching after 45+ years. She stayed home for a few months but found it impossible to not be focused on work. She applied for a part time job at Target and worked there up until 6 months before she passed.

Bonnie was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in October of 2013. She had regularly scheduled mammograms her entire life, but it was never detected. Had sonograms been required as a part of breast cancer screening, she would have been diagnosed long before 2013. She fought long and hard but if you asked her about it she always gave a smile and a positive response. That is just who she was, nothing could get her down.

Bonnie loved life, always had a joke to tell and was loved by everyone that met her. She always had a positive outlook on life and had a beautiful smile to share. She will be sorely missed by all those around her.

She is survived by her husband, Randall Anthony De Trinis; sons, Joel De Trinis and wife, Jennifer and John De Trinis; grandchildren, Liam Anthony and Aaron De Trinis.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.