Bonni Rae Branson

B: October 13, 1945
D: July 25, 2020

A Memorial Service of Remembrance and Celebration of Life for Bonni Rae Branson, 74, of Toledo, OR, formerly Lucien, OK will be held 11:00AM, Saturday, August 1, 2020 at the First Baptist Church, Cashion, OK with Pastor Chris Wilkerson officiating. Internment will follow at a later date in a private family service in the Oakland-Knowles Cemetery in Crescent, OK.

Bonni was born October 13, 1945 in Longview, WA the daughter of James and Dorris Conrad and passed away Saturday, July 25th, 2020 in Newport, OR. She was a graduate of Newport High School in 1963. It was there, in her hometown by the sea, that Bonni met Jerald "Butch" Branson, the love of her life. A farm boy from Marshall, Okla., Butch hopped on a bus the night he graduated from high school and got off at Newport’s old Greyhound bus depot, now the historic Sylvia Beach Hotel, on a scenic bluff above the water.

Bonni and Butch met on a blind double date and were married in Newport on Feb. 1, 1964. He was an outdoorsman, a fisherman and hunter. She preferred to curl up with a book and a cup of coffee on a rainy day. They had four children -- Kimberlee, Kerri, Jason, and Jeremy -- and raised them in Oregon, Idaho, and, finally, Oklahoma. For Bonni, family was everything. When her children grew, she called all of them, and talked for hours. Her walls were always covered with photographs of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who affectionately called her "Nana Bonni", and she wrote cards to them for every birthday.

Bonni found great joy in laughing at her family's notoriously dry humor. She loved coffee and sweets. She got a kick out of good-naturedly sparring with her beloved older brother, Jim Conrad, of Toledo, and going on shopping sprees with his wife, Rosemary, especially to Hobby Lobby.

Bonni was known for her homemade chocolate chip cookies and her meticulously decorated home. At Christmas, her home was a magical place, filled with kerosene lamps and potpourri and the many Santa Clauses she collected.

She loved the Oregon rain, and she said she always felt at home by the ocean. Bonni was a woman of deep Christian faith and enjoyed serving her church home and reading her bible. The hymn "It is Well With My Soul" often moved her to tears.

She had a long career with Safeway and Walmart. For years, she was the assistant manager at Walmart in Perry.

Bonni was preceded in death by her loving husband, Butch on June 12, 1998. She was also preceded in death by both parents.

She is survived by daughter Kimberlee Monroe and her husband, Shannon, of Toledo, Ore.; daughter Kerri Bowling and her husband, Raymond, of Ringwood, Okla.; son Jason Branson and his wife, Shelli, of Crescent, Okla.; and son Jeremy Branson and his wife, Christina, of Cashion, Okla. She also is survived by granddaughter Jami McCray and her husband, Bo, of Ames, Okla.; granddaughter Noelle Barker and her husband, Michael, of Toledo, Ore.; grandson Justin Bowling and his wife, Monica, of Council Hill, Okla; granddaughter Kaitlyn Lundgren and her husband, Brian, of Toledo, Ore.; granddaughter Hailey Branson-Potts and her husband, Mark Potts, of Torrance, Calif.; grandson Nicholas Schovanec and his wife, Brigitte, of Salem, Ore.; grandson Corey Branson of Crescent, Okla.; and grandsons Symon, Jake and Tommy Branson of Cashion, Okla. She leaves behind 12 great-grandchildren: Jaycee, Baylee, Sophee and Codee McCray; Benjamin, Addie and Samuel Barker; Reagan and Grace Bowling, Cooper Lundgren, Charlie Potts, and Lily Schovanec.

Flowers and memorials can be sent to Abernathy-Aaron Funeral Home at 201 N. Hickory St., Crescent, OK 73028.

A memorial service in Oregon will follow in the coming weeks.