Marion Christine Bonner

Marion Christine (Chris) Bonner was born on February 25, 1946, in Garden City, Kansas, to Margaret Christine (Berg) Bonner and Marion Charles Bonner of Leoti, Kansas. Chris passed peacefully on Thursday, April 9, at the age of 80 in Tucson, Arizona. She had a full life, filled with love, art, family, friends, and treasures.

Chris grew up in Leoti, Kansas, into a family of eight children. After graduating from Wichita County High School in Leoti in 1964, she lived in California, Missouri, Colorado, Arizona, and several cities in Kansas. In 1984 she attained her B.F.A. in Fine Art from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas. Her occupations before her retirement included legal secretary in Kansas City, Missouri, museum clerk in Lawrence, Kansas, and graphic designer for numerous companies in Hays and Tucson. Her last position before she retired was in purchasing at Canyon Ranch Resort in Tucson, AZ.

While living in Missouri, she had two daughters, Angela and Amy, of whom she was extremely proud. In 1992, after moving to Tucson, she married her beloved and devoted husband, Terry Weber, of Chicago, Illinois, with whom she shared many adventures, travels, and appreciation of fine cuisine. Her favorite destination—after going to see her daughters—was Paris, France, which she and Terry visited multiple times.

Art was the driving force of her life. She enjoyed making collages, painting, and collecting objets d’art. She had a special talent, inherited from her mother, for repurposing ordinary objects such as buttons into artwork (see below). She was a painter and a creator and most joyful when others found joy in her artworks.

Chris is survived by her husband Terry Weber; two children, Angela Buer (Kelly Ritchotte) of Mesa, Arizona and Amy (Buer) Tinney of Northridge, California; a grandson, Dylan Tinney, of Northridge, California; three brothers, Orville Bonner (Jean), Chuck Bonner (Barbara Shelton), and Dana Bonner (Ginny); three sisters, Clare Jane Askey, Letty McGarvin (Tim), and Melanie Thomas (Carlton); and two sisters-in-law (Susan Cecil and Sandy Forkins). She was preceded in death by her parents and brother Steve Bonner.

Chris will be deeply missed by her husband, siblings, nieces and nephews, cousins, friends, children, and grandson, whom she loved very much.

During the last years of her life, Chris enjoyed sharing on her Facebook page heart-warming sentiments, old family photos, achievements of her daughters, beautiful images, and other items that touched her heart. The last post she made on the day of her death (shown below), sums up everything Chris stood for: enduring, surviving, and enjoying natural beauty.

Chris chose to be cremated and to not have a memorial service. Donations may be made in her name to the charity of your choice or to her favorite charity, Sister José Women’s Center in Tucson, AZ.