Bonnie Gay Anthonijsz

Bonnie Gay Anthonijsz 22 October 1943 – 30 August 2025 Bonnie Anthonijsz has passed on, causing our family and local community to loose much of the cement that bound us together. Born Bonnie Gay Burnett, she was raised in the small farming community of Potlach, ID. She was the middle child of five. After graduating Potlach High School, like a butterfly in a jar, Bonnie wanted to experience something outside of a small town and joined the Women's Army Corps. She was stationed in Hawaii, where she met the love of her life, Arthur Anthonijsz. She always enjoyed telling people how the two of them met peeling potatos while on kitchen patrol (KP). When her service as a WAC was complete she rejoined Arthur in his home state of California and they were soon married. That marriage lasted 60 years and they were blessed with two sons. Bonnie never forgot her small town roots, though. The values she learnt growing up became much of the glue that held her family together. Arthur became very prominent in the broader community. Bonnie always supported his efforts in the background, quietly aiding those efforts from behind the scenes. In supporting those endevours she came to have many intimate frienships throughout the local community. Bonnie had been attending Chaffey College, hoping to start a part-time career, when she found out about some health issues that might hamper her goals. She underwent some risky medical procedures to address these issues. By the time she was in her 30s Bonnie had become physically handicapped and disfigured by those procedures. She did not let this situation slow her down though. After all, what a caterpiller calls the end, the world calls a butterfly. She had a room in her home converted to an office and therein provided an income tax service. Bonnie enjoyed a wide variety of activities ranging from cooking to dancing, from crossword puzzles to event planning. But most of all she enjoyed time with family. Whether it was returing to visit family in the Idaho area or supporting her husband and sons, here is where she was tuly in her element. As she got older she extended this attribute with her grandsons, whom she truly adored. The butterfly effect of her love and toil continues through the surviving family. Arthur recently left this world. Longing to be by his side, Bonnie joined him two and a half months later. Bonnie is survived by her brothers Larry Burnett and Jerry Burnett, her sister Susan Kinke; her son Steven Anthonijsz and his wife, Karla Karpowicz; her son Daniel Anthonijsz and his wife Tracey Anthonijsz; Selima Gibson, the daughter she never had; her grandsons Bandon and Skyler Anthonijsz; and myriad nieces and nephews. She also leaves behind more friends than one can count.