On Sunday, May 12, our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and our daddy’s “wifey,” Bonnie Lee VanderHoek, left us peacefully in her sleep at home in West Point, Utah.
Bonnie was born Nov. 9, 1930, in Salt Lake City, to Leland Faye Savage and Maud Johnson Savage. She was the second of six children. She was raised on Butler Hill and graduated from Jordan High School in 1949. Mom grew up on a farm and always loved pigs. She would say, “Some people think pigs are dirty … but I think pigs are purdy.”
Bonnie met her eternal companion, Cornelis VanderHoek, and they married on Dec. 19, 1952, in Salt Lake City. Together they raised five children. They resided in several states including Utah, South Carolina, Texas, Wyoming, New Jersey, Colorado and Arizona.
As a young woman and mother, Bonnie worked as a telephone operator. Then when her children were grown, she worked in the Uinta County School District lunch program in Evanston. However, her favorite job was mother and grandmother, and we all knew it. She selflessly loved when it came to her children, her grandchildren, her nieces and nephews and her children’s friends. Everyone loved her and knew they could always count on her.
Bonnie also loved her Heavenly Father and served Him as a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Of the many callings she had, serving in primary was her favorite. She and Cornelis served a mission to Venezuela on the island of Aruba; a name extraction mission to Cleveland, Ohio; and a Denver, Colorado, Temple mission. They also served in the Washington D.C., Mesa and Gilbert temples as ordinance workers.
She is survived by her husband, Cornelis of West Point, Utah; her children, Cornelia “Corri” Wells (David) of Phoenix; Benjamin VanderHoek of Kaysville, Utah; Rachel Green (Ron) of West Point, Utah; Charlotte “Lottie” Ottley (Todd) of Gilbert Arizona; and Rebecca “Becky” Wilkinson (Scott) of Maricopa Arizona; 16 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren with another due in June. She is also survived by her baby sister, Rebecca “Becki” Young of Syracuse, Utah.
She is preceded in death by her parents and four of her five siblings.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday May 18, at the West Point 10th Ward building, 2852 W. 300 N. West Point, Utah. There will be a viewing one hour prior to the service in the Relief Society room. Interment will be in the West Point Cemetery.
The family would like to thank the caregivers of Summit Home Health for the love and care they gave not only to our mother but to her family as well. And thank you to Premier Funeral Services for making this experience as peaceful and painless as possible.
