GLOTFELTY, Bonnie Jeanne DUNNUCK

GLOTFELTY, DUNNUCK, BOLE, ORTIZ, RANDALL, FEUCHT, MCKEE, GOSSICK, JOHNSTON

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 6/1/2009 at 14:53:42

"The Fairfield Ledger", Tuesday, May 26, 2009, Page 10

GLOTFELTY, Bonnie Jeanne DUNNUCK -- LAKELAND - Bonnie Jeanne DUNNUCK GLOTFELTY, age 82, went home to be with the Lord on May 16, 2009. The cause of her death was pancreatic cancer.

Bonnie Jeanne DUNNUCK was born in Wymore, Nebraska, on July 14, 1926. She was the first child of Robert Adair and Jennie Mae BOLE DUNNUCK. During her childhood, her family lived in Grand Island, Hastings, and Norfolk, Nebraska and in Haywarden and Northwood, Iowa. They settled in Fairfield, Iowa, during her high school years. She graduated from Fairfield High school in 1944, and attended Parsons College, also in Fairfield. She taught in a country school for a time and worked at the Rex and Co-ed Theaters in Fairfield, handling management duties, ticket, popcorn, and candy sales, and keeping people from sneaking in the back door!

On May 27, 1949, Bonnie married John William GLOTFELTY, also of Fairfield, in Keota, Iowa. They were married by a Church of the Brethren minister. Bonnie had to take John's parents along to get the marriage license, because John was not yet 21 years old. The young couple moved to Louisville, Kentucky, so John could start at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in the fall of 1949. While John was a student, Bonnie worked at the Mary Anderson Theater in Louisville and then in the office of the Ben R. Goltsman company, which bottled and sold wine. In January 1951, Bonnie gave birth to their first child, and in April 1953, welcomed their second son. Thanks to Bonnie, John was able to say upon graduating that he started medical school with nothing and finished first in his class with a wife, two children, and a new car.

While John was in the Public Health Service, the family lived with John's parents on their Iowa farm (while John was on the Coast Guard icebreaker, the 'Northwind'), in Staten Island, New York, where their daughter was born in 1956, and in Norfolk, Virginia. They eventually settled in Lakeland, Florida, where John joined a private ophthalmology practice. Bonnie was ever the supportive spouse and active mom. She was a den mother when her boys were in cub scouts, could rustle up Halloween costumes without any patterns, and always had some creative idea up her sleeve and artistic project underway. The family grew when a third son was born in 1965 and twin sons joined the clan in 1968.

Bonnie accompanied John throughout his medical career, both in his professional activities and on trips to various medical meetings, many of which were in overseas locations. They became seasoned travelers with photos and stories of their experiences in Europe, the Soviet Union, Tunisia, and the People's Republic of China, to name a few. While John was active in the Florida Medical Association, Bonnie was active in and served as President of the FMA Auxiliary.

Bonnie also succeeded in numerous other pursuits. She took an interest in genealogy and family histories. She visited libraries, archives, and cemeteries in various cities and over the years discovered and compiled an extraordinary amount of information on all branches of the family tree. Because, as she put it, she was "bitten by the bug" and worked seriously on genealogy, she gave her children and the extended family real perspective on who they are and from whence they came.

Bonnie's artistic abilities also led her to artistic hobbies, such as doll collecting, miniatures, ceramics, sewing, knitting and crocheting, embroidery and virtually every other type of needle work. she was also naturally good at drawing and painting. Her interest in ceramics eventually led her to become part owner of Sir Ramic Supply Company, which from 1968 through 1981 occupied storefronts on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland. The shop was a gathering place for hobbyists, where they could learn everything from pouring slip into molds to china painting. The shop also sold ceramic supplies, including greenware, had a large inventory of molds, and made high quality porcelain favored by numerous artists, especially those who designed and made porcelain dolls.

Bonnie indulged her personal interests in a variety of ways. She has been a long-time member and leader of the Tropical Doll Study Club in Central Florida, and an organizer and sponsor of what has become an annual "fireflies" modern doll convention in Orlando. She traveled frequently for a variety of reasons, including participating in doll conventions or genealogical society seminars, attending class reunions and visiting her children who lived out of town. She was always ready to get up and go and always pleasant and fun to be around. Her children, grandchildren and friends all enjoyed her humor and her calm, "go-with-the-flow, yet let's-have-fun" attitude. when she was really tickled, she would laugh so hard she would cry, and everyone in her midst had to laugh along with her.

Bonnie and her husband were good children to their parents. Her parents and his retired and moved to homes near theirs in Lakeland in 1961 (the GLOTFELTYs) and 1981 (the DUNNUCKs). They formed an extended family that greatly enriched the lives of their children and grandchildren. As their parents aged, Bonnie and John were there for them.

She will be sorely missed and remembered most fondly by all who knew her. She is survived by her husband, John GLOTFELTY; her six children, John David (and his wife Carmen ORTIZ GLOTFELTY), Robert Galen (and his wife Barbara Rajchel GLOTFELTY), Emma Jeanne GLOTFELTY RANDALL (and her husband Marcus RANDALL), Michael James (and his wife Tammy FEUCHT GLOTFELTY), William Randolph (and his wife Karla FEUCHT GLOTFELTY), and Edward Neil (and his wife Kelly McKEE GLOTFELTY); her 14 grandchildren; her two great-grandchildren; and her sisters: Shirley DUNNUCK GOSSICK of Buffalo, Wyoming, and Loretta DUNNUCK JOHNSTON (and her husband Gary JOHNSTON) of Fairfield, Iowa.

Family visitation will be from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Friday, May 29, 2009, at Behner Funeral Home in Fairfield.

A service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 30, 2009, at the Church of the Brethren, west of Libertyville.

Copied with permission from The Fairfield Ledger, Inc.
*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.

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