Sue Ellen Bonner

Sue Ellen Bonner of Georgetown departed this life peacefully on March 15, 2023, at the age of 77. Sue was born to Virginia Ellen Null Smith and Floyd Parley Smith on 1945, in Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, where her father was an officer in the US Army Corp of Engineers. After World War II ended, Sue’s family settled in Fullerton, California, where she graduated from Fullerton Union High School in 1963. Sue then earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education in 1967 from Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas. In 1986, Sue graduated with her Master of Education in Educational Psychology from Wichita State University. Sue was awarded Certification as a Director of Christian Education from SMU’s Perkins School of Theology in 1987. Sue was consecrated as a Christian Educator in the Kansas West Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church that same year. Sue taught sixth grade in the public-school sector, and then moved into vocational church work. She utilized her deep Christian Faith and keen organizational gifts to develop one of the largest and most inclusive adult Sunday School and small group programs in Wichita, as Program Director of First United Methodist Church. In 1992, Sue followed her second great life and faith calling as an advocate for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. Sue became the organizer and executive director of the Wichita YWCA’s Women’s and Children’s Women’s Crisis Center. In 1995, she moved to Kansas City and continued her advocacy work in 1996 as Program Director of SAFEHOME. In the summer of 2003, Sue was first diagnosed with a pre-leukemic bone marrow disorder. This disease and its chemotherapy treatment limited her stamina, and, in her wisdom, she decided on early retirement from vocational work. But her forced retirement never lessened her commitment to her faith, making Disciples to follow Jesus, and care for the least and the vulnerable, most specifically women and children in need. Sue lived out her faith daily, in all aspects of her life. Sue and her husband, Dan Bonner (married on June 17, 1995), moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to Georgetown, Texas, in the summer of 2004, where they had built a home in Sun City. Sue hoped, with good reason, that they would soon have grandchildren nearby to enjoy. In Georgetown, Sue was actively involved in Wellspring, a United Methodist Community of Faith. For many years while her health allowed, she regularly volunteered at The Caring Place, Meals on Wheels, with her church and community groups, and as an actively involved grandmother, with grandchildren in Texas, South Carolina and California. She was also a devoted and caring wife to Dan for 27 years. Sue is preceded in death by her parents, Ellen and Floyd Smith, and her younger brother, Scott Smith, and his wife, Lynn. Sue is survived by her husband, Dan, of Georgetown, Texas, and her sons, Brook Russell (Maya), of Clemson, South Carolina, and their children, Zara (14) and Colin (12), and Trent Russell (Shari), of Boulder Creek, California, and their children, Tyler (11), Meredith (8), and Zachary (5). She will also be missed and treasured by Dan’s daughters, Naomi Yost (Chris), of Round Rock, Texas, and their children, Ashley (17) and Reece (15), and Angela Bonner, of Austin, Texas. The family deeply thanks the residents and staff of The Wesleyan at Estrella, Sue and Dan’s home for the last two years. Deep gratitude also extends to our devoted and gifted long-time personal attendants, Loretta Sedwick and Mary Robinson, as well as Wellspring’s caring members, and the extraordinary team of Wesleyan Homes’ Hospice Ministry for the care and compassion they gave Sue in her final six weeks of life on earth. Sue’s family invites her circles of care, friendship, and prayer support to attend The Celebration of Sue Ellen Bonner’s Life, Faith, and Witness on Monday, April 10, at 3:00pm, in The Hewlett Room at The Wesleyan at Estrella’s East Independent Living, 201 White Heron Drive, Georgetown, TX. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a tax-deductible donation in Sue’s memory to a charity dear to her heart, The Benevolent Fund of Wesleyan Homes, P.O. Box 468, Georgetown, Texas 78627.