Bonnie Ruth Johnson

Obituary of Bonnie Ruth Johnson

Bonnie Ruth (nee Henne) Johnson, age 70, of Newark, Illinois, passed away peacefully Wednesday, November 5, 2025, at her home with her son and daughter by her side. She was born December 12, 1954, in Aurora, Illinois, the daughter of the late Albert Frederick and Erna Ruth (nee Kollmann) Henne.

An avid reader, one of Bonnie's favorite books, The Land, Always the Land by Mel Ellis, reflects a deep-rooted theme by which she lived her life. Bonnie grew up on the sesquicentenary Henne family farm south of Yorkville, Illinois, where she developed a lifelong appreciation for the outdoors and the beauty of nature. She attended Cross Lutheran School, Platteville Grade School, and Yorkville High School, where she was one of the first female members of the Future Farmers of America. She is remembered by her siblings as the comedian of the family, pulling various pranks on her brother and three sisters, making up amusing songs to pass the time as they walked beans, and filling her bedroom and the farmyard with the various pets in her care–minus the pet monkey she wanted so badly, but never did get.

The home where she raised her daughter, Jill and son, Jay was just a few miles down the road from the family farm, so she was always deeply involved in the family operation and helped on many other farms throughout the area as well. As soon as the leaves began to change and she felt the crisp fall air on her cheeks, she was itching to get behind the wheel of a combine! Away from the farm, she did administrative work for KR&G Excavating in Oswego for many years, and then eventually turned her full professional focus to natural resources and the environment. In her 40s, she earned her Associate's Degree in Horticulture from Joliet Junior College and worked for McKay Nurseries, The Natural Garden, the Oswegoland Park District, the Fox Valley Park District's Red Oak Nature Center, and the Kendall County Forest Preserve District while establishing her own landscape design company, Earth's Echo. The landscapes she designed and installed throughout the area, most of which incorporated the use of plants native to the region, are a living legacy of her creativity and appreciation for life in all of its shapes, colors, and textures.

Bonnie was an active conservationist working on issues in Kendall County for decades, serving on the Advisory Council of The Conservation Foundation, active in the Soil & Water Conservation District and Farm Bureau, and helping to pass both of the Kendall County Forest Preserve District's open space referenda. She earned awards in recognition of her efforts from multiple local open space and conservation entities, and retired from The Conservation Foundation, where she passed on her passion for the environment and its stewardship to the next generation as an environmental educator and where her daughter Jill still works.

Bonnie lived her life by the rhythms and lessons of nature with a heart awake to beauty. The bountiful vegetable gardens she and her husband, Jeff, tended nourished family and friends long after the growing season through her canned creations, and Bonnie's Porch was a sought-after place of solace and grounding to her friends and family. She believed wholeheartedly in the healing power of nature and had extensive knowledge of medicinal plants and essential oils. No matter what ailed you, she was famous for saying, "I've got an oil for that!".

Music was another of Bonnie's loves; she delighted in watching her daughter and son and their friends perform in high school and college bands, loved a good local outdoor concert, and traveled to see bigger names like Neil Diamond and even Elvis Presley on stage! She was also a gifted musician and artist herself, leading several church choirs over the years, playing the piano, painting and sewing (her nieces and nephews all received a handmade personalized bear from Aunt Bon). But the artistry of nature is where she found the most inspiration and purpose. Her capable hands transformed hundreds of acres into native habitat for the wildlife and pollinators she felt so connected to. Whether hiking, kayaking, getting her hands dirty at a volunteer workday, or restoring the woodlands and prairies around her home with the help of Jay, Jill, and Jill's husband and girls, she was her happiest when she was touching the earth. She poured so much of her heart into her granddaughters, Adelaide and Ferne, encouraging them to look closely at and live gently in the world around them. She especially loved her Newark homestead, where her next-door neighbors were her children, she could see her granddaughters off to school every morning, plant and prune to her heart's content, and pass on her deep respect for nature and her enduring "Care for the Earth" ethic.

Bonnie is survived by her beloved husband of 19 years, Jeffrey Johnson; her loving children, Jill Emily (Jeffrey) Johnson and Jay Thomas Teckenbrock; adoring granddaughters, Adelaide Ruth and Ferne Emily Johnson; her sisters, Jeanne (Craig) Leifheit, Cindy (the late Timothy) McDonald, and Sharon (John) Krueger; her brother, Wes (Judy) Henne; sister in-law, Becky (Kevin) Anderson; beloved uncle, David Henne; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and dear friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Erna Henne; her in-laws, Bob and Barbara Johnson; her brothers-in-law, Timothy McDonald and Ron Rumney; her nephew, Bradley Steffenson; her niece, Julie Steffenson; and an unborn grandchild she is now singing to somewhere over the rainbow.

Friends and family may gather to share memories at a visitation in honor of Bonnie on her 71 st birthday, December 12 th, 2025, 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., at Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 1201 W. Route 6 at Deerpath Drive in Morris, IL. As was Bonnie's request, cremation rites have been accorded and a Celebration of Life will be held in the spring at her homestead.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Conservation Foundation, Lightways Hospice, or to the Kendall County Food Pantry.

For information, please call Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, Morris, (815) 942-5040, or visit her Memorial Tribute at www.fredcdames.com, to share a favorite memory or leave a condolence.