Bonnie Jean Carlson

Thank you Bonnie Jean, for sharing your love of music, tap and ballroom dancing, bowling, love of Edgar A. Guest poetry, bodice rippers and mystery books, Chanel #5 perfume, as well as card and domino games with family and friends.

Thank you, Bonnie Jean, for your fierce protection over your family, siblings, mother, and friends.

Thank you, Bonnie Jean, for working so hard and supporting so many family members so selflessly, and with much sacrifice of your own dreams and plans.

Thank you, Bonnie Jean, for giving to perfect strangers just because you wanted them to have better lives, without expecting anything in return.

Thank you for having eyes that saw reality and the good inside each person.

Thank you for your strong arms that supported others when they were too weak to find the hope in tomorrow.

Thank you for your amazing math, investment, and tax knowledge you shared with anyone who asked.

Thank you for being a truly unique, amazing, forgiving, and compassionate human.

You will be missed.

On the Sunday morning of April 6, 2025, Bonnie Jean Stockford Carlson ascended into heaven where she joined her soulmate, husband of 66 years, Ken Carlson; her grandsons Connor Kenneth Carlson Henion and Joshua Drew Henion; her parents, Francis Byron Stockford and Mildred Rachel Kelsey Stockford; her Stockford siblings: Byron Charles, Ronald James, Edward Joseph, and Linda June; her niece Jodi Lynn Shearer; and her in-laws Kenneth and Fern Louise Peterson Carlson, Gloria Jean Carlson Bayes and Robert Bayes; and friend Judi Gibbs.

Left behind to miss her sparkling blue eyes, tinkling laughter, and quick wit are her daughter Wendy Jean Carlson-Henion and granddaughter Haley Claire Henion; sisters Lois (Ron) Stockford, Marilynn Joan (Jerry) Romanowski, and Kimberly Joyce (Robert) Stack; her Stockford nephews and nieces; her best friend Geneva Outland and her daughters; and her friends Eunice Crosswell, attorney Daniel (Barb) Nees, Carrie Thornburn, Susi Sandin, Jeff Flynn, Eileen Bridges, and Joe Claire Henion, her constant feline companion.

Her family would like to thank Compassus Hospice of Lansing for their care, and her personal caregivers: Lydia Rogers, Caitlin Powell, Amy Kosten, Olivia Winnie, Angel and Natalie for their love and attention, as well as our neighbors and friends who offered their love and support during this transitional time. A graveside service for Bonnie will be held on Monday, April 14, 2025 at 12:30pm at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Wounded Warrior Project or Smiles Without Borders.

In the words of Edgar A. Guest:

“We're past the hurt of fretting—we can talk about it now:

She slipped away so gently and the fever left her brow

So softly that we didn't know we'd lost her, but, instead,

We thought her only sleeping as we watched beside her bed.”

Domine lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

Until we meet again.