Bonnie Sue Marshall Williams passed away on July 30, 2026, at Kettering Health Main Campus in Kettering, Ohio, following complications from aortic valve replacement surgery. She was surrounded by the love of her family, as she faced this final challenge just as she had faced every challenge before it, with the same grace, faith, and boundless optimism that had characterized her entire life.

Bonnie was born August 21, 1943, in Greenville, Ohio, to Albert Henry Marshall and Hazel Maxine Gorrill Marshall. She was raised on her family’s Suites-Me-Farm on Sweet Potato Ridge Road, north of Brookville, Ohio, with her brothers, Ted and Craig. Growing up, she helped tend the pigs and cows and learned to cook full meals by age 10. Those early years on the farm instilled in her a lifelong work ethic, quiet confidence, and the habit of caring for others before herself. Bonnie participated in her local 4-H chapter and was crowned the Montgomery County Fair Pork Queen in 1960. The next year, Bonnie graduated from Northmont High School, where she was active in student government and her church youth group.

Bonnie built a life defined by a love of learning, service to others, and an independence that took her wherever her career called. She began her education at Manchester College in Indiana and received her Nursing Certificate from the Dayton School of Practical Nursing in 1965. She started her nursing career as an ER nurse at Grandview Hospital in Dayton. She then pursued specialty training in psychiatric nursing, caring for patients in Dayton and Columbus hospitals and within the prison system. It was demanding, difficult work that required a combination of clinical precision and a genuinely tender heart. She went on to train nurses at Northwestern University in Chicago and later earned her BSN through Capital University. Bonnie spent 23 years as a nurse trainer for the State of Ohio before retiring, and she later served as a travel nurse in Portland. When her father's health began to decline, she left Oregon and drove herself home to Ohio, unwilling to be far from family when it mattered most.

Bonnie didn't slow down after retiring. If anything, her appetite for learning only grew. She trained to become a Master Business Coach and a Certified Health & Wellness Coach through the Fowler School. She found a second calling as a professional speaker, sharing stages with legends like Zig Ziglar and Norman Vincent Peale, and co-authored a book celebrating outstanding individuals. Bonnie was often honored professionally and served as Board President for the Lifelong Learning Program at Sinclair Community College for several years. She even worked to complete her church's Young Women’s Personal Progress program, determined not to skip a single building block she felt she'd missed. It was proof, as much of her life had been, that she never considered her education finished.

In 2010, Bonnie found her faith home in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a decision that shaped the rest of her life. It was there, at a single adults activity, that she met Gary Williams. Widowed years before, Gary was determined to put himself out there and meet new people. He had set his red folding chair at the end of a table, and it happened to be the spot right next to where Bonnie soon sat down. She noticed the chair and thought, "Whose is this?" A moment later, Gary arrived to claim it, and the two struck up their first conversation. He remembers her as confident, outgoing, and gregarious from the start. Their courtship included that early chapter, a period apart, and a great deal of soul-searching before they found their way back to each other for good. They married and were sealed together in the Columbus Ohio Temple on July 22, 2018. This same temple is where they went on to serve for years as dedicated temple workers, keeping their family's names on the prayer roll every week they attended.

Bonnie displayed incredible patience, love, and humility as she grew into her role within her new family, thoughtfully making the effort to know and love each of Gary's children and grandchildren. Together, she and Gary built a home and a life. They made a big organic garden salad most weeks and shared it with neighbors. They danced in the kitchen to old love songs. They tried new recipes and new cuisines, grew fresh herbs, and spent long afternoons on the patio admiring what they'd planted. Their door was always open, whether it was a neighbor stopping by with grilled pork chops to trade for salad or a friend making a spontaneous visit. Bonnie and Gary also took care of each other through every health challenge that came their way, their roles often shifting from spouse to nurse to advocate, and they counted it as a privilege each time.

Bonnie’s devotion extended just as deeply to her own mother, Maxine, who lived to 104 years old. In her mother's final years, Bonnie cared for her as both a trained nurse and daughter, along with Bonnie’s brother, Ted. Bonnie would often stay up through the night to check on her mother. The two talked openly about heaven, and Bonnie found peace in her mother's lack of fear. After her mother passed, Bonnie and Gary performed her proxy baptism together at the Indianapolis Temple, with Bonnie entering the water on her mother's behalf. She often said she believed her mother watched over the family from heaven, just as she believed of others who had gone before.

Those who knew Bonnie would use the same words to describe her: caring, positive, and loyal, with an elegant sense of style, a memorable, witty sense of humor, and a gift for noticing the sweetness in small moments. Gary often told her that beyond finding her beautiful, one of the things he loved most about her was how, when he looked at her, he would sometimes catch glimpses of all the Bonnies she had ever been. On any given day, she could look anywhere from nineteen to the age she actually was. He never knew which glimpse of her he'd get, and he called it a little bit of heaven. He liked to think it was heaven allowing him, just for a moment, to see her as God saw her: whole, timeless, and radiant.

Bonnie is survived by her husband, Gary Dee Williams; her stepchildren, Matthew Williams, Joshua (Laticia) Williams, Jacob (Sara) Williams, Joy (Enoch) Oliveros, and Jami Williams Fritz; her grandchildren, Logan (Joelle), Connor, and Justin Williams; Eleanor, Adelaide, Sonia, and Maggie Williams; Ashton, Allie, Jordan, Levi, Anna, and Jessa Williams; Gabriel, Genevieve, and Josephine Oliveros; Stari Williams-Smith, Laney Fritz, and Patrick Fritz; her great-grandchildren, Saphire, Killian, and Joanne Williams; her brother, Ted Alan (Jeannie) Marshall; her nieces and nephews, Ryan Marshall, Kim (Larry) Compton, Lindsay (Erran) Marshall, Taylor (Natalie) Marshall, and Allison (Arthur) Hatton; her grand-nieces and grand-nephews, Lexi Compton, Jackson, Eli, and Myles Marshall; and Gabriel, Ari, and Nicholas Hatton; and her cousin, Kevin Lightner, as well as extended family and friends who considered her family. She was preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Maxine Marshall, and her brother, Craig Marshall.

A private family viewing will be held Thursday, August 6, 2026, at 12:00 PM, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 901 Whipp Road, Dayton, Ohio 45459, followed by a public viewing at 12:30 PM and funeral service at 1:30 PM. A graveside dedication will take place on Friday, August 7, 2026, at 10:00 AM at Arlington Road Cemetery, 9150 National Road, Brookville, Ohio 45309.

In lieu of flowers, charitable donations can be made in Bonnie’s name to:

 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Perpetual Education Fund  (https://give.churchofjesuschrist.org/campaigns/81244/donations/new) 

Or the Sinclair Foundation Annual Fund  (https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/donor-form?svcid=tcs&formId=132d6518-539e-42b7-b9f0-fc4199610f59&envid=p-SBwIE7xCaEClCUUqu1YPqA&zone=usa).

Bonnie taught everyone who knew her that age is just a number, that love elevates us to who we're meant to become, and that life should always be filled with new opportunities to learn and grow. She will be deeply missed and forever remembered as a woman of faith who found joy everywhere she looked, and who left everyone a little more joyful for having known her.