Sunny V. Friendly

Sunny Friendly, aged 86, passed away peacefully as she was being anointed on December 3, 2025.

Born into poverty, Sunny created a colorful life for herself over the years.
Her birth name was Margaret Rose Vondrasek, born in Winona, Minnesota. She had five brothers, and when their mother abandoned them, Margaret was placed into St. Michael's Orphanage in La Crosse, Wisconsin when she was 4 years old.
At 15, she boarded a bus and arrived penniless in Rockford, Illinois. She secured a job as a nanny to an influential family who funded her schooling through the beginning of her college education at Rockford College. There she met her future husband, Richard Fahlbeck. He promoted her through various modeling and acting jobs. They married in 1961 and relocated to southern California, where they then had two daughters, Kymberli and Heather.
After divorcing Richard Fahlbeck, Margaret married Nicholas Friendy in 1968. They had a daughter, Stefini.
After divorcing Nicholas Friendy, Margaret married Herb Goettelmann in 1976. From then onward, she was known as "Sunny" throughout most of the Inland Empire in Southern California.
Sunny was an ambitious businesswoman, specializing in the fields of marketing and publicity, event organization, and fundraising. She moved on to excel in interior design and then real estate. Sunny and her best friend, San Bernardino California Mayor Evelyn Wilcox, took the city of San Bernardino to new heights, winning numerous national awards and working closely with the Rose Parade.
After divorcing Herb Goettelmann, Sunny returned to Rockford, Illinois in 2002 to enjoy time with family and friends.
She is survived by her three daughters: Kymberli (Fahlbeck) Mulford, Heather (Fahlbeck) Langlois, Stefini (Friendy) Brooks, their husbands, five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
The family will hold a private memorial.
In lieu of flowers, please perform a random act of kindness in remembrance of Sunny.

To share a memory or condolence, please visit www.olsonfh.com