Barbara Jean (Jeannie) (Bartlett) Bonnell

To view the livestream Celebration of Life on behalf of

Mrs. Barbara Jean (Jeannie) (Bartlett) Bonnell,

on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 11:30 AM, please click the link below on

Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 11:30 AM:

United Methodist Church in Stow

Celebration of Life on behalf of:

Mrs. Barbara Jean (Jeannie) (Bartlett) Bonnell

STOW - Barbara Jean (Jeannie) (Bartlett) Bonnell, 82, passed peacefully into God’s forever life and joy on September 16, 2024.

Barbara Jean “Jeannie” Bonnell was born September 3, 1942, in Akron, Ohio, the second of four children of Dr. Robert M. and Elizabeth H. Bartlett. She graduated from Cuyahoga Falls High School in 1960 and from Albion College in 1964. In the summer following her junior year of college, Jeannie accepted a blind date with Richard Bonnell, and they were married three years later. Neither of them could have foreseen that they would soon be separated for a year when Dick was sent to serve in Vietnam with the U.S. Army. Soon after his return, they moved to Stow, Ohio, where they raised their two sons, Mark and John.

Jeannie was a gifted teacher. She taught kindergarten and first grade for thirty years in the Fort Knox Military Dependent School System, the Fort Bragg Military School System, The Bath-Richfield School System, the Tallmadge City Schools, and The Kent City  School District. She was respected by students and colleagues alike. Many of her former students have continued to keep in touch with her.

Jeannie took twelve years off from teaching to joyfully spend years teaching her own beloved sons the joys of reading and language, science, birding, art, and dog care, among others. When both sons were in school for full days, she accepted an offer to return to the classroom.

Jeannie was an active member of United Methodist Church in Stow, teaching Sunday school classes, participating in women’s study groups, and volunteering for various church leadership roles.

She was also an excellent swimmer and spent every summer of her adult life by the crystal-blue waters of Walloon Lake, Michigan. She loved sitting in the sun, swimming with her grand-kids, sailing, and watching the sunset from the hill at her cottage. She loved being a mom and a grandma. She was so proud of her two sons, Mark and John, and loved them fiercely. She would always find a way to spend time individually with each of her grandchildren and made sure each one felt affirmed for their unique gifts and who they are in the world. She loved daisies and the color yellow - nearly everything she wore was yellow.

Jeannie loved birds and every month of every year she would teach her first graders a new bird of the month - its size and colors, song, habitat, characteristics. Her favorite was the goldfinch - it is bright yellow after all. She spent many hours watching and tending the birds at her feeders. She asked that anyone reading this please spread bird seed in her honor.

She was a deeply caring friend to family and friends alike and will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered. There is peace in knowing her journey with Alzheimer's and multiple myeloma is over. For more about Jeannie, see this tribute from her beloved sister posted on her blog Beth Bartlett Duluth: “Of Tear-Water Tea and Aurora Borealis.”

She is preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Elizabeth Bartlett, and is survived by her loving husband, Dick; her beloved sons, Mark Bonnell (Alice Bonnell) and John Bonnell (Karen Bonnell); her brother, Robert H. Bartlett (Wanda Bartlett); brother, Bruce Bartlett (Genevieve Bartlett); her sister, Beth Bartlett (Dave Winchester); her grandchildren, Mary, Johnny, and Sally Bonnell, Ana-Sophia Bonnell, Ella Strohecker, Hadley Bonnell, Mackenzie Erin Melnick (Nate), and Rex Cameron Payton; and great-granddaughter (Mirren Jean Melnik); many nephews, nieces, and grand-nephews and nieces; and her lifelong childhood friend, JoAnn Bartlow.

A service in celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 11:30 AM, at United Methodist Church in Stow, 4880 Fishcreek Road, Stow, OH 44224, visitation starting at 11:00 AM, and reception following.

Donations in her memory may be made to the The National Audubon Society, Attention:  Donations, 225 Varick Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10014, or visit www.audubon.org/ways-to-give