Bonnie L. Bowden

TOLLAND, CT - Bonnie L. (Richardson) McLaughlin Bowden, 60, of 147 Barstow Lane, Tolland, CT 06084, wife of Richard S. (Dick) Bowden, passed away peacefully Sunday, May 17, after a massive stroke at home Thursday, May 14. With her family surrounding her, she was released from life support, and freed from strife.

Bonnie was born April 13, 1955, in Audubon, NJ, to George and Eleanor (Beu) Richardson. She went to schools in Gibbsboro, NJ, attending Eastern High School and earning a G.E.D.

She was briefly married in the 1970s, and was a loving mother to Ian Richardson, the television editor, of whom she was extremely proud.

As a young single mother, Bonnie McLaughlin worked the boardwalk games at the Jersey Shore around Wildwood. In the 1980s and '90s she worked in customer service in the automotive business. She moved to Richmond, VA, where she lived for over 15 years and leaves good friends.

Dick and Bonnie met at a John Hartford concert in 1996, and married in 1998 in Bethel, CT, moving to Tolland in 2001. Bonnie became immersed in Dick's world of bluegrass music. She was a welcome member of the international bluegrass community and leaves scores of music friends.

Bonnie was predeceased by her mother, father, older brother Bobby Richardson and his wife, Teri, and nephew James Boland, all of New Jersey. She is survived by husband Dick Bowden of Tolland, CT (and Bucksport, ME); son Ian Richardson of Los Angeles, CA (and Richmond, VA); sister Linda Zaleski of Turnersville, NJ; brothers George Richardson Jr. of New York City and Jim Richardson of Yonkers, NY; sisters-in-law Lisa Wood of NYC and Karen Donohue of Yonkers; brother-in-law Andy Blittman of Turnersville, NJ; stepsons Scott Bowden of Lexington, KY, and John Bowden of Merrimac, MA, and their daughters Katie and Amber Bowden of Lexington, KY, and Gwen Bowden of York, ME; daughters-in-law Deanna Bowden of Lexington, KY, and Kris Cesare Spagnuolo of York, ME; loving mother-in-law Mary Lee Bowden and sister-in-law Bobbi Bowden of Orland, ME; sister-in-law Becky Bowden of Bangor, ME; and brother-in-law Russell Bowden of San Francisco, CA; Richardson nieces and nephew Jocelyn, Leah, Bonnie, Emily and Max; and numerous cousins in the Philadelphia area.

All services will be private at the convenience of the family. Interment will be held at a later date in New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Bonnie's memory to the Connecticut Humane Society at CTHumane.org.

Bonnie's family thanks neighbors George and Mary Carneiro of Barstow Lane in Tolland, CT; the Tolland Volunteer Fire Dept.; Connecticut State Police; Rockville Hospital ER; and the amazingly skilled and compassionate neurological ICU staff at Hartford Hospital.

For online condolences, please visit: www.pietrasfuneralhome.com.