Bonnie Cecil (Bullard) Oakes

Bonnie Cecil (Bullard) Oakes, 88, passed away from pneumonia on November 15, 2021, at Great Falls Clinic Hospital, in Great Falls, MT with family at her side. A memorial service and interment of ashes at Sand Coulee Cemetery will take place on May 11, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. (Bonnie and Don’s Wedding Anniversary date). A celebration of life will follow, and details will be announced at a later date. Bonnie was born in 1933 in Three Rivers, Michigan at home on the kitchen table! She was born just after midnight on August 29, 1933, however, the attending doctor put August 28 on the birth certificate, so Bonnie celebrated two birthdays every year and loved to joke that she was twice as old as she actually was. However, in her later years when people would joke with her about celebrating two birthdays a year catching up with her, she would say “I’m not old-you are only as old as you feel.” Bonnie was the fourth of five daughters (Terrie Joyce, Willamena “June”, Marilyn Alice, Bonnie Cecil, Shirley Helen) of Maude Alice (Burgess) Bullard and Cecil Henry Laverne Bullard of Three Rivers, Michigan. Bonnie grew up in and around Three Rivers, MI. She started school in a one room schoolhouse outside of Centerville, MI. Bonnie was supposed to start school as a kindergartner, but the school did not have a kindergarten class, so she was started in the first grade. Before the school year was completed her family moved back to Three Rivers and the following fall Bonnie started school again, this time as a kindergartner. Bonnie attended high school in Vicksburg, MI where she graduated in 1951. As a child, Bonnie and her family would spend much of their time visiting their Grandpa Charles and Grandma Cora Burgess at their farm outside of Vicksburg. This was a place they loved to be. Bonnie and her sisters would play outdoors, petting the horses, cows, and other farm animals, and playing in the grain bins, as they made the perfect sandbox but without the dirt. Bonnie and her sister Marilyn would spend countless hours playing Laura and Mary from Little House on the Prairie; Bonnie as “Laura” and Marilyn as “Mary.” Their little house on the prairie was always the flatbed hay wagon that Grandpa used to haul hay. Bonnie and Marilyn would spend all day making up stories and playing out the scenes. After graduating high school, Bonnie married Vernon Eugene Shepherd Sr. They had 3 children, a son, Stephen Michael Oakes (birth name Vernon Eugene Shepherd Jr.); and two daughters, Deborah Jean and Naomi LaVerne. They lived in Kalkaska, MI and later divorced. Bonnie and her kids moved to Philadelphia with her parents for a few years before moving back to Michigan where she lived until 1975. While living in Michigan Bonnie met and fell in love with her milkman, Donald “Don” Marvin Oakes Sr. who became fondly known as “Chub,” Bonnie’s favorite nickname for Don. They married in 1963. Don had 5 children from a previous marriage, Donald Marvin Jr., Robert Earl, Daniel David, Theresa Louise, and Karen Jean. Bonnie and Don had a daughter together, Cora Mary. Together they raised Bonnie’s 3 children and the child they had together full time and Don’s 5 children part-time (as often as they could) with the amazing love they shared. Bonnie considered all 9 children hers, she loved them all the same. There was never a distinction made between the kids, whether it was a hug or a swat on the butt that was needed. Not that it would have made a difference because when one of her kids or grandkids was in trouble for something she would go through several of their names (at times including her dog) before saying the correct name. By the time she got to the correct name, all involved were laughing so there were many more hugs given than swats. Swats were few and far between and mostly went unnoticed. Bonnie and Don moved to Montana in 1975, and lived there the rest of their lives. Bonnie and Don both cherished spending time with family and friends. Throughout their life together, every chance they had they would be packing bags to go visit one of their loved ones or making a room up for them to come visit. Bonnie and Don were always up for an adventure! Whether it was camping in the mountains and sleeping on the hard ground, going to the Grand Ol’ Opry, or posing with lions and riding on an elephant for pictures at the fair, they shared an adventurous spirit. When Don could not go with her, she would ride across the country with whoever was headed back to, or from, Michigan and Florida to visit family or friends, never passing an exit that had a cup of coffee to grab (almost always from McDonalds). Bonnie was a person who saw the good in everyone. She was incredibly kind, and the phrase “she didn’t have a mean bone in her body” fit her to a tee. Bonnie was known for her homemade beef and noodles, her love of her Irish heritage, and her deep love for her family. Bonnie’s lifelong best friends were her sisters, June, Marilyn, and Shirley, and she spent countless summers traveling to Michigan and Florida so they could be together. One of Bonnie’s lifelong dreams was to visit Ireland. In 1995 Bonnie, her sister Marilyn, and Marilyn’s husband Bill took that trip to Ireland, and it was a trip she cherished and talked of throughout the rest of her life. Bonnie loved spending time with her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids as well. “Grama Oakes’ house” was a favorite place to be, whether she was teaching how to sew, make homemade cinnamon rolls, or paint ceramics, she was always helping or doing for others. When it came to her grandkids, everything was a go. Whenever the opportunity arose, one of Bonnie's favorite things to do was to snatch up whichever baby grandkid was about and give them a bath in the kitchen sink. It was not uncommon to go to Grama Oakes’ house and as you walked in, you’d see bubbles splashing about the kitchen or pots and pans scattered amuck on the floor with one or more of the grandkids sitting in the middle of the pans in pure bliss. Along with the grandkids having free range in the pan cupboard, they also took control of the canned food cupboard, creating many mystery suppers as they always tore the labels off. She never complained. It was more like she encouraged them. Bonnie learned to be quite creative in the kitchen once her grandkids were involved. She would always say “they are only babies once.” Bonnie was Grama Oakes to not only her grandkids but to all the children in her life. She made no distinction amongst them. To her they were all her grandkids. She was often heard reciting this mantra she learned from her mother to kids, young or old, who were arguing or disagreeing, “Children, do you love one another, are you always kind and true, do you do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”. In the late 50’s and early 60’s while living in Philadelphia Bonnie went to school and became a licensed beautician. She owned and worked at her beauty shop until she moved back to Michigan. While attending school there, she worked as a long-distance telephone operator. Bonnie often spoke of riding the El train to and from her jobs. While living in Michigan in the 60’s and 70’s, she was employed as an assembly line worker in a factory. She also took on additional jobs to help support her family. Bonnie would make cakes for any occasion, specializing in wedding cakes and birthday cakes. She taught her children (boys and girls alike) and many others how to make flowers to decorate her cakes, oftentimes filling the chairs around the table making flowers into the wee hours with those she loved, as the chit chat filled the room. She would also bring home co-workers laundry to iron, pressing whoever was at hand to help. After moving to Montana in 1975, Bonnie was employed at the Cascade County Nursing Home as a Nursing Assistant and beautician for many years before retiring in 1993, when the facility was sold. She wasn’t retired long before she began working with people in their homes. Bonnie loved helping others and always said her job helping others as a Nursing Assistant was her passion. Bonnie had a happy life filled with so much love. She was a strong woman, and endured her share of challenges, pain, and loss, but she always kept a positive outlook and never stopped loving and supporting others. You couldn’t often find her without a smile on her face and kind words for anyone who needed them. She embodied “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all." She was a rare person in the world, and will be dearly, dearly missed. She is survived by children and stepchildren, Stephen Michael (June) Oakes of Sand Coulee, Naomi (Dave) Burkett of Tracy, Daniel David (Deborah) Oakes of Ohio, Theresa (Curt) Cook of Kentucky, Karen (Steve) Kile of Michigan, and Cora Oakes Ginnaty of Great Falls; grandchildren, Quentin Leaf Moore, Hyatt Cecil Moore, Love Burkett-Chambers, Joan Burkett Potts, Alethia Shepherd McKinley, Naomi Sue Shepherd Boles, Nicolette Fisher-Combs, Naomi Lynn Fisher, Ariel Gallandt Oakes-Arnold, Ashley Ginnaty Adams, Levi Ginnaty, and Amber Ginnaty Malvae plus 13 more; 44 great-grandchildren; 6 great-great-grandchildren; sister, Marilyn Alice Abshire of Saranac, Michigan; and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. Bonnie was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Marvin Oakes, Sr. of Tracy; children, Deborah Jean Shepherd-Moore of Great Falls, Donald M. Oakes Jr. (Sue) of Muskego, Wisconsin, and Robert Earl Oakes (Carol) of Texas; granddaughters, Virginia Moore-Reynolds of Washington and Melissa Sue Oakes of Wisconsin; great-grandson, Richard McCallister of Washington; parents, Cecil Henry LaVerne Bullard of Three Rivers, Michigan and Maude Alice Burgess-Bullard of Tracy; grandparents, Charles Loren (Cora Helen Pace) Burgess of Vicksburg, Michigan; sisters, Terrie Joyce Bullard (4 weeks old), Willamena June Dechnik of Three Rivers, Michigan and Shirley Helen Carter of Bradenton Florida; son-in-law, Ronald Vincent Ginnaty of Tracy; brothers-in-law, Edward Frank Dechnik of Three Rivers Michigan, Alton B. “Al” Alexander of Three Rivers, Michigan, and William “Bill” Laclair Abshire Jr. of Saranac, Michigan; nieces, Christine Lee Abshire of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Kimberly Carter-Marone of Florida.