Bonnie Satterthwaite Obituary

Bonnie Marie Bowers Satterthwaite

Bonnie Marie Bowers Satterthwaite, 84, of Wichita, Kansas, died peacefully at her home on Saturday, August 15, 2015, after bravely battling cancer. Her memorial service will be held at the First Baptist Church in El Dorado, Kansas, on Thursday, August 20, 2015, at 11:00A.M. The private interment will be at held at Sunset Lawns Cemetery prior to the service.

Bonnie was born on May 5, 1931, at Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital in El Dorado, Kansas, to Bessie Gladys and Herschel Gray Bowers. She was raised on the Deep Rock Oil Company lease north of El Dorado where she attended the Number 8 schoolhouse. She attended El Dorado Junior High School, where she met her future husband, Dale Eugene Satterthwaite, square dancing with the El Dorado Boosters 4-H Club. She graduated from El Dorado High School and was crowned the first ever homecoming queen her junior year. Bonnie and Dale were married on October 15, 1950, and lived in El Dorado, Hutchinson, and Topeka as Dale's career progressed. They moved to Wichita in 1985, where Dale still resides.

Bonnie worked for the Butler County Farm Bureau, the Butler County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) office and Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital, ending her career at the Reno County ASCS office in Hutchinson in 1980. She was an active member of both the El Dorado First Baptist Church, joining in 1946, and the El Dorado High School Alumni Association.

Bonnie is survived by her devoted husband Dale, who lovingly cared for her throughout her battle with cancer; two daughters, Lisa Graham and husband Randy of Salina, Kansas, and Stacey Dillon and husband Reed of Lawrence, Kansas; and four grandchildren, Cole Graham, Laine Norris and husband Jeff, Grayson Dillon and wife Kaylin, and Gabrielle Dillon. She is also survived by her older brother Herschel Edwin Bowers of Thibodaux, Louisiana. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Bonnie was a loving wife, mother and grandmother, and always put the concerns of her family and friends before her own. She dedicated her life to helping others when life was the hardest and when times were good. "Some people come into our lives and quietly go. Others stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same." ~ unknown author

In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established at the First Baptist Church and El Dorado High School's USD 490 Partners in Education Foundation in Bonnie and Dale's name for a student attending the University of Kansas. Carlson Funeral Home is serving the family. Please sign her online guestbook and leave a memory of Bonnie at www.carlsoncolonial.com

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