Bonnie Jean Houser

Our beautiful mother Bonnie Jean passed peacefully at 9PM Saturday evening surrounded by her children. She was a strong, fiercely independent woman, the daughter of one, mother to another, and grandmother to yet another. And there were some boys thrown in there just to keep things messy.

Born April 23, 1932 to Eunice (Canfield) and Samuel (Clyde) Carpenter, Bonnie’s childhood was that of a country girl with an emphasis on her love of pets that lasted a lifetime. There is always room in your home for a dog and a cat — or two — she maintained. Several barks and meows later, she graduated from South High School and embarked on a career that ranged from fetching auto parts from the warehouse to her beloved telephone company, interrupted early by marriage, birth of her daughter Kendra, and divorce. 

After a whirlwind romance, Bonnie married George Ernest Houser on June 15, 1958, leading to her sons David Judd and Gary Patrick, in all of whom she instilled the value of hard work, mostly successfully. Along the way there were many more pets, mastery of cooking, playing bridge, beautiful gardens, knitting, reading and countless friends. And she loved to travel; who would have thought a girl from Crescent, Utah would stroll the gardens of Versailles, visit the ruins of the Colosseum in Rome, or stop her husband from tossing the too-complicated-for-its-own-good camera into the Rhine River? But her favorite was spending time in Italy with Kendra, enjoying a good glass of wine.

The light of Mom’s life, however, was her grandchildren Stewart George and Emmeline Rose. There has never been a prouder grandma who bestowed more love, bravery, confidence and mints.

Bonnie was preceded in death by her father, mother, brother Harmon and husband George. She leaves a legacy cherished by her family, survived by Kendra, Judd (Lorraine) and Gary (Casey), all of whom ask you to remember Mom with us this Friday, April 14 at 11:00 am at Cannon Mortuary, Cottonwood Heights and then from 1 to 4 pm for a celebration of her life at the Little America Hotel - Arizona Room, 500 South Main Street, Salt Lake City. In lieu of flowers, Bonnie Jean asked for donations to Best Friends Animal Society or the Utah Humane Society.