It is with heavy hearts that we sadly announce the passing of our beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, Bonnie Russell (nee Lewis) on the 28th of May, 2024, in her 73rd year.
She was born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1951 to Leonore Florence Sheppard and Kenneth William Lewis.
Bonnie is survived by her devoted husband Wallis ‘Pete’ Russell and her two sons Jeffrey and Scott Russell, as well as her brother Steve Lewis and two granddaughters Luna and Mina Russell.
She was preceded in death by her parents, and by her sister, Brenda Lewis.
Early in her life, Bonnie was the secretary for the president of Domtar Chemicals, first at the Montreal office, and then following a transfer at the Toronto office. After raising her two children, she returned to the workforce as a senior judicial secretary at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, retiring in 2015. She lived in the small town of Erin, Ontario, for over twenty years before moving up to Thornbury, Ontario, in 2012, and later settling in Meaford, Ontario.
Bonnie was an avid outdoors explorer, enjoying her time paddling and hiking all over the wilderness of Ontario. She embarked on many trips to the interior of a great number of Ontario’s provincial parks, sometimes with family, and at other times with a group of her paddling friends.
In addition to the love of the outdoors, she enjoyed several types of sports activities, like tennis, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and cycling. Bonnie and Pete would ride a tandem cycle from time to time, and she loved riding the trails that run along Georgian Bay, even planning a ride this summer.
A private service of interment will take place at Thornbury-Clarksburg Union Cemetery.
We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to the kind and caring staff at the Chapman House (Grey Bruce Hospice), who helped make her last days as comfortable as could be. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
As your expression of sympathy, and in lieu of flowers, donations to the Grey Bruce Residential Hospice ‘Chapman House’ would be appreciated and may be made through the Ferguson Funeral Home, 48 Boucher St. E., Meaford, ON, N4L 1B9, to whom arrangements have been entrusted.
