Bonnie Sugar

November 7, 1945 - March 7, 2020 Bonnie Sugar passed away peacefully in the presence of close family on March 7, 2020 at her home in Los Angeles.Born in Chicago, IL Nov. 7, 1945, Benita (Bonnie) Lou Weiss was the daughter of professional pharmacist parents who drove with their young daughters to California in 1946, pioneering a new life in the sunny San Fernando Valley. Her mother and father, Harriet and Al Weiss, owned and operated pharmacies in L.A. and the Valley, including at the Jewish Home for the Aging in Reseda. The Weisses were among the earliest members of El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana. Bonnie attended local public schools, went to college in the Bay Area, and then returned to raise her own family in Woodland Hills. For decades many important family events and rites of passage (sweet sixteens, weddings, bar mitzvahs) were held at El Cab; Sunday brunch there (always finished off with chocolate mousse) was legendary. Summers were spent with multiple generations of family by the pool, listening to Dodgers games on transistor radio, at her parents' house in Sherman Oaks. Everyone was welcome, always. An early childhood educator and speech therapist, Bonnie also worked as a television and movie producer alongside her then-husband Larry Sugar. She was always very proud of her sons. Despite long, debilitating illness, Bonnie was able to experience the joy of becoming a grandmother in recent years. From a lineage of strong women, and after a brave struggle with PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a neurodegenerative disease), Bonnie is survived by her children, entertainment executive Michael Sugar (48) and his wife, Lauren; film and television director/producer J.B. Sugar (46) and wife Alicia; grandchildren Cooper (3) and Zev (2); former husband Larry Sugar; her sister, Roberta Sue Buckner; nieces, nephews, cousins and life-long friends. She will be remembered and cherished by all of us for her fierce loyalty; love of cheeseburgers and chocolate; and sense of humor, which she maintained through the final moments of her life. Donations in her honor can be directed to Parkinson's Community Los Angeles https://pcla.org/donate-pcla/.