BONITA “BONNIE” MARIE RUSSELL

Bonita “Bonnie” Marie Russell, age 94, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 28, 2019, at National Park Medical Center in Hot Springs, Arkansas. She was born May 19, 1925 in Fort Dodge, Iowa to Fredrick and Mary (Piesinger/Vargason) Bodenstien. She was a graduate of Fort Dodge High School, where she favored the arts and choir. On the stage of the musical “Naughty Marietta” she met Carl Russell; the couple married in Washington D.C. on November 25, 1944 while Carl was on leave with the Navy. She spent a lifetime in love with her husband, her family, and the practice of painting. Bonnie worked in a photography studio, retail sales, and as a homemaker and Interior Designer. When Bonnie and Carl retired to Hot Springs Village in 1987, Bonnie became a library volunteer, an avid reader, and a member of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church where she sang in the choir. She also achieved a lifelong dream to take painting courses and “fill the walls of her home with paintings” by attending National Park College (NPC) in Hot Springs throughout her later years. Bonnie is survived by her husband, Carl, and six children: Roslyn (Middleton), Tina (McGown), Pamela (Ascher), Patrick, Cynthia (Trotto) and Thomas. Her nine grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren range in age from 53 to 5, and live scattered throughout the country. Bonnie’s kind and gentle demeanor was complemented by a fiery spirit, virtues which are embodied in this tribe of loving, creative and passionate children. While she will be deeply missed, Bonnie’s legacy lives on through an Art Scholarship fund created by the family in her name, to be awarded annually to students pursing the Arts. Donations are being accepted to this fund by the National Park College Foundation in Hot Springs, AR. Friends, community and others who knew Bonnie are gathering at a funeral mass at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, 9am Monday, June 24, 2019. She will be laid to rest in the church columbarium. Online condolences at www.caruth-hale.com.