Vernice Ione Bonander

Larchwood, Iowa Vernice Bonander, age 94 of Larchwood, IA died on Saturday, March 30, 2013 at the Fellowship Village in Inwood, IA. Funeral service will be 10:30 AM Tuesday, April 2nd at United Church of Christ in Larchwood, IA, with Reverend Kelly Volk officiating. Burial will follow at Larchwood Cemetery in Larchwood. Visitation will be Monday, April 1st from 4:00 to 8:00 PM, with the family present from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the United Church of Christ in Larchwood. Vernice Ione Bonander was born October 9, 1918, in Larchwood, Iowa to Irving Wightman and Ida Wightman (nee Rudloff). She married Harold Bonander on March 11, 1941, and he survives her. Vernice was a proud life-long resident of Larchwood, Iowa. She graduated from the Larchwood Public High School in 1936. She later attended the Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa and went on to teach school in Sioux Township #3. As a teacher she inspired her students with both her sharp wit and her lovely looks. As a teacher, and as the owner of an inquisitive mind, she always harbored a life-long love of books and learning. Her other great loves included her family, coffee and cookies after church, large family meals with relish trays, Easter lilies, winters in Arizona, golf, football, gardening, chatting, and being an excellent hostess. And she always made sure to look her best, rain or shine, sickness or health. Vernice will be dearly missed. She approached life with an unmatchable zest, and she never met an obstacle she failed to overcome. In the words of the irrepressible Dolly Parton, she couldnt always direct the wind, but she always adjusted the sails. Vernice is survived by her husband Harold; two children: Rodney (Lachlan) Bonander of Larchwood, Iowa; Jessie (John) Knievel of Burnsville, Minnesota; five grandchildren: Sarah Knievel (Chris Porter) and their son James (Vernices only great grandchild, and the apple of her eye) of Kingman, Arizona; Katie (Keith) Morgan of Larchwood, Iowa; Andrea Knievel of New Orleans, Louisiana; Michael Bonander of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Alec Bonander of Iowa City, Iowa. Vernice was preceded in death by her parents and by her brother, Wyant Wightman. Blessed be her memory.