Yvonne Joy Saarinen

Yvonne, who always went by "Bonnie," was born June 9, 1928, in Petaluma, California to parents Elmer and Gladys ("Happy") Eaglin. The family loved going in their Studebaker sedan to picnic on the weekends and to camp at Wright's Lake each summer in the Sierras. She had 7 lifelong friends that she met in kindergarten, including Jane and Ellarene. She loved roller skating and playing with her sister Darleen. In 1939 the sisters played a piano duet together at the San Francisco, Treasure Island, World's Fair. She graduated from Santa Rosa Junior College School of Nursing in 1949 with a Registered Nurse degree and always had a special place in her heart for nurses. She loved that both her daughters also became nurses. Bonnie's nursing career, and raising their daughters, was important to her.

She met her future husband, Walt Saarinen, as a sophomore in high school. She developed a love of football watching him play. The San Francisco 49ers were founded during this time, 1946, and she would go on to be a lifelong fan. She said she always knew she would marry Walt. A bouquet of red roses on Christmas Eve 1952 with a card "to the future Mrs. Walt Saarinen" made the announcement official to their families. They had two daughters, Laurie Saarinen, and Julie Becker. Countless moves resulted from Walt's management jobs with Arco. They later purchased service stations and a cultured marble business which allowed them to stay put. She made houses into homes and yards into gardens, moving 19 times in her first 20 years of marriage for her husband's career. In 1990 they moved from her beloved Grass Valley in the northern California mountains to Wasilla, Alaska to be closer to family and watch her grandsons, who she loved dearly, grow up.

The passing of daughter Laurie in 2021 and Walt in 2022 was very difficult for Bonnie. She had been with Walt 77 years when he died. Only her belief in God's presence and promise, that your spirit lives on and she will meet them again, helped her deal with these losses. She was very resilient, able to cherish memories but continue to look forward. She knew she would miss her wonderful neighbors, Charlie and Betty, and morning coffee at MatSu Family Restaurant, but it was time to move from her beautiful, two-story home in Wasilla with the mountain views that she loved to Maple Springs Senior Living in Anchorage at the age of 93. She had kind neighbors and quickly made caring friends there that she enjoyed sharing meals with. She loved living the last years of her life only a few miles away from family that she cherished so much, daughter Julie and son-in-law Earl Becker, grandsons Chris and Justin, granddaughter-in-law Rianne, and great grandsons Corbin and Silas. She also loved talking to her beloved nephew, Gregg Sanders, who always had a special place in his heart for Aunt Bonnie and sent "hugs and love during this tender time."

Bonnie had been born in 1928, a year filled with momentous discoveries, penicillin, and DNA. Gerber baby food and the first sliced bread were sold that year and families listened to the radio, as they did not have televisions. She was 11 when the very first televisions were sold at the 1939 World's Fair, and it would be 1955, the year her first daughter was born, before half of American homes had a black and white tv. Her last major purchase was a tv that could be controlled by speaking into a remote. How times had changed during her 96 years.

She died very peacefully several days after having a stroke with her dear son-in-law at her side. Her ashes will join those of her daughter Laurie and husband Walt in the waters between the Chugach Mountains and Sleeping Lady. Bonnie cherished her family and was deeply loved. There is a poem that reminds us of her. "Don't think of her as gone away, her journey's just begun, life holds so many facets, this earth is only one." It ends with "think of her as living in the hearts of those she touched, for nothing loved is ever lost and she was loved so much."

Her family would like to express great appreciation for the remarkable staff at Maple Springs Senior Living that allowed her to maintain a wonderful quality of life and maximize her independence, which was so important to her. She rarely needed help, but when she did, she knew Tom and others were just a call away. To her dear friends there, she couldn't wait to get down to breakfast each day to start her day visiting with you. You added a richness to her life and we appreciate you. Her family would also like to express deep gratitude to the warm and compassionate staff in the ER and on 5 North at Providence Hospital, who made her final days comfortable, peaceful, and meaningful. You more than fulfilled Providence's mission to "know me, care for me, ease my way." To the chaplain, you made the "hard privilege" of being at her bedside easier. Chris, Norlyn, Rosa, Emily, Ann, and others, you are why our family always holds a special place in our hearts for nurses. Take care. You are all a blessing to our community, and we are eternally grateful for the great care you not only provided to mom, but to us.