Bonnie Kreps

Bonnie Kreps was born Bonnie Peschcke-Køedt in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1937. From childhood on, Bonnie was a force of nature: indomitable, passionate, quick-witted, and fearless. She became a feminist filmmaker, writer, and activist, whose energy, intelligence, and boundless confidence inspired countless people.

In 1943, when the Nazis began deporting Jews from occupied Denmark, Bonnie's parents Inger and Bob helped smuggle Jews to safety in Sweden; their home was a waystation. Bonnie, age 6, noticed a grandfather whose hands shook too much to hold his tea cup. She asked her mother, "Why is he shaking? Is he sick?" Inger answered, "No, he is afraid. His family are Jews. They must run for their lives from the Nazis." Bonnie asked, "But why? They haven't done anything wrong." This powerful memory spurred her lifelong determination to fight for social justice.

In 1951, Bonnie's family emigrated to Palo Alto, California. Bonnie and her younger siblings, Anne and Peter, went to Palo Alto High School. There Bonnie met Rodney Kreps, the son of a Stanford University professor. Their math teacher was delighted when her smartest girl and boy students started dating. Bonnie attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, for two years, then moved to San Francisco to become a "Beatnik." In 1958 she married Rodney at Jackson Lake Lodge, Wyoming, where her family had moved. Her parents lived in Jackson Hole for the rest of their lives.

After her marriage, Bonnie finished her BA at Rutgers University. Bonnie and Rodney's only child, Lise, was born in Princeton, NJ in 1962. Bonnie pursued post-graduate studies in the Aesthetics of Theatre at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1967 Rodney was offered a professorship in Theoretical Physics at the University of Toronto, and the family emigrated to Canada.

In 1968, Bonnie presented the only radical feminist brief to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. Because of this, she was hired by CTV as a Researcher for their flagship news show, W5, and then promoted to Associate Producer for their documentaries. She interviewed Indira Gandhi, A.Y. Jackson, and Eldridge Cleaver, among many others.

Bonnie co-founded the first second-wave radical feminist group in Toronto, the New Feminists, and wrote articles in its newsletter, later archived at York University. During the Viet Nam war, Bonnie smuggled draft dodgers up from the US, and women to safe abortion practitioners (including Dr. Morgentaler) while abortion was illegal. Smuggling people was her family's legacy.

In the 1970s Bonnie wrote a "feminist Dear Abby" column called "Hotline on Women" for Chatelaine magazine, and then a column in Homemaker's Magazine, which reached women across Canada. She published numerous articles, including a "Guide to the Women's Movement in Canada," and spoke at many events. When the YWCA invited her on a speaking tour of Newfoundland in 1972, she had an impact on the emerging feminist and LGBT movements there.

In 1974 Bonnie's family moved to Saltspring Island BC, then got swept up in the "Back to the Land" movement. They built a house (without running water or electricity) on a mountainside outside Nelson, BC, with the assistance of Bonnie's brother, Peter, and Lise, then age 14. Bonnie and Rodney separated in 1977, Bonnie moving to Vancouver, and divorced in 1979.

Bonnie produced and directed eight independent documentary films about social justice for women, starting with "After the Vote: A Report from Down Under" (1968), a feminist primer, followed by "Portrait of My Mother" (1972) to show that "older" women (in their 50s and 60s!) could still lead interesting lives. Her documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada included the award-winning This Film is About Rape (1977) for which Ferron wrote the song "Testimony," and This Borrowed Land (1984) about family farms in the Peace River region of BC endangered by the Site C hydroelectric dam.

In 1989 Bonnie returned to Jackson Hole, living next door to her parents and renowned environmentalist Mardy Murie on the historic Murie Ranch in Grand Teton National Park. With Charlie Craighead, she made a feature-length biographical documentary, "Arctic Dance: The Mardy Murie Story" (2001), narrated by Harrison Ford, featuring John Denver singing the song he wrote for Mardy, and Mardy (age 95) receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Bill Clinton. Bonnie also published four nonfiction books: a selection of her articles, a self-help book about love, a companion book to her film "Arctic Dance," and a local history of Jackson Hole.

In 2013 Bonnie returned to Canada to live with her daughter. After a 13 year struggle with Alzheimers, she passed away peacefully in Gibsons, BC, on August 14, 2025, age 88.

Predeceased by her brother Peter Koedt, Bonnie leaves her daughter Lise Kreps, granddaughter Sarah Kushner, daughter-in-law Juliet O'Keefe, and step-grandson Liam O'Keefe in Halfmoon Bay, BC; sister Anne Koedt in New York; ex-husband Rodney Kreps in Seattle; cousins Lisa, Nina, Tine, Marianne, and Manner Peschcke-Koedt in California and Denmark; and many friends. Special thanks to the staff at Christenson Village for their compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Rise Up! Feminist Digital Archive (registered charity in Canada) would be gratefully appreciated.