Bonita “Bonnie” Joy Finkeldey was born March 20, 1935, and the world has been blessed with her eternal first day of spring vibrance ever since. She passed away at home surrounded by loved ones Aug. 16, 2024. Eighty-nine years filled her abundant life of love, community, seasonal celebrations, faith, and the inevitable twists and turns of a life well lived.

Bonnie was an incredible woman - a phenomenal wife and mother - and a truly remarkable grandmother and great-grandmother. If you knew her, you knew unconditional love. She made all the moments of our lives mean something. With a box of decor for every holiday and a change of seasonal colors down to the placemats, we spiraled the wheel of time with visits to Grama and Grandpa’s little Cottage in Ivoryton.

Bonnie is survived by the love of her life and husband of 71 years, Otto Finkeldey; three of her four children, Otto, Tammy, and Drew; her brother Donald Joy; 12 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and the hundreds of people whose lives she touched with her forever open doors and open heart. If you were hungry, she would feed you - sometimes even if you weren’t. If you were tired or lost, there would be a place for you in her home. If it was your birthday, you were getting a card, maybe even a homemade ice cream cake with your favorite flavors, which she tracked in her tiny book of everything she chose to remember. She chose to remember what mattered to the people in her life.

Bonnie believed in community and in taking care of one another in a way that seems to be fading in modern times. She was a beacon for a way of caring for your neighbor and your family that we very much wish could be revived for those growing up today. Her life was full of laughter, dancing, music, holiday gatherings, sporting events for all her children and grandchildren, a few show tunes, and waiting for the hummingbirds to arrive from their long journey right after the catbirds in early May. She will be remembered as the leaves turn in autumn, in the twinkling lights at Christmas, in every perfect beach day, in birdsongs by day and the peepers by night, and every first day of spring.

Her family knows that she is woven infinitely and irrevocably into the fabric of how we move through our lives. Our moments are infused with seeing the beauty of this one precious life because of the love and beauty she poured into all of us. We trust she is received by her daughter Debbie, who passed away just last year; her incredible mom Elizabeth McClure “Grama Lib;” her best friend Naomi; and the many animals she tended and nurtured through the years; as well as the many others she has loved and lost in this life. “We love you a bushel and a peck, and we know we will meet again.”

In accordance with Bonnie’s wishes, her body has been donated to the Anatomical Gift Program for the Frank H. Netter MD, School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University for medical education and research.

A celebration of life followed by lunch and fellowship will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, at Essex Veterans Memorial Hall.