Bonnie Wood

Bonnie Jean Wood

(1937-2025)

Bonnie Jean Wood was an adventurer to the end.

She died of cancer on August 11, 2025 in Eugene, Ore. She was 88 years old.

In the final weeks of her life, Bonnie asked her children to take her to Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast where she had worked as a teen, honeymooned, and returned many times to walk along the beach and gaze at the blue-green ocean.

Bonnie was born in Wichita, Kansas, on May 8, 1937. She was the youngest child of Mary (Hatten) and Walter Kotwitz, who had lived in Sunnyside, Wash., for many years.

From an early age, Bonnie had a quest to learn, meet new people and embrace new experiences. As a child, she often could be found up in a tree reading a book.

She excelled at Sunnyside High School where she was a class officer, tennis player and member of the marching unit. She also sang soprano in her church choir.

Bonnie attended Whitworth College where she met Earl Buri. She and Earl married in Sunnyside on June 16, 1957. They had four children: Douglas, who died soon after birth, Phil, Mary and Sherri.

As a homemaker in Spokane, Wash., Bonnie raised her children, sewing many of their clothes and hatching adventures, including a 50-day motorhome trip through the United States for the nation's Bicentennial in 1976. She also continued her education, earning a bachelor's degree in education and later her master's in administrative training and development from Eastern Washington University.

Bonnie married Jack Wood in 1980. They blended their families and created a home together in Bellevue, Wash. They enjoyed being grandparents, boating on the lakes in the Seattle area, and traveling frequently to Hawaii.

While Bonnie's family was always her first priority, she also built a career in training for the Army Navy Resale System and then the City of Seattle.

Bonnie later lived on the waterfront in Port Orchard and Ocean Shores, Wash., where she beachcombed, dug for clams and learned to kayak. Her last move was to Eugene, Ore.

Throughout her life Bonnie loved to cook and entertain. Many will remember her delicious yeast dinner rolls. Her favorite was hosting Thanksgiving dinner, always welcoming newcomers to her home and table.

Bonnie also enjoyed working with textiles: sewing, knitting, quilting, spinning and weaving. To learn new weaving techniques, Bonnie traveled as far away as Mexico and Laos. She loved to travel, visiting all but one state and nearly 20 countries.

Bonnie loved and was beloved.

She had a zest for life, easy-going nature and sense of humor that drew people to her. She delighted in making new friends even in the final months of her life.

Bonnie is survived by her sisters Louetta Herd and Shirlee Hendriks; her children, Phil Buri and Darcie Donegan of Bellingham, Wash.; Mary Buri and Jo Bayly of Worthing, England; Sherri Buri McDonald and Matt McDonald of Eugene, Ore.; her step-children, Julie Wood; John and Sara Wood; and Jim Wood, all of the Seattle area; eleven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Near the end of her life, Bonnie told her children, "My work is done here. I'm proud of what I was able to do with my life."