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Bonnie Anne Stockman ’69

A picture of Bonnie Stockman

Bonnie Ann Stockman ’69, October 8, 2013, from ovarian cancer, at home, in Oregon City, Oregon. An “army brat,” Bonnie grew up in various places, including Georgia, Alaska, Monterey, California, and Washington state, before coming to Reed, where she studied psychology when she wasn’t folk dancing or having other adventures. She took a break from Reed to study Zen Buddhism at the San Francisco Zen Center and Tassajara Zen Monastery, and spent a summer living in a miner’s cabin above Amador City, California. In 1974, Bonnie graduated from Portland State University with a BA in psychology and a certificate in social service. Her husband, David Lynn ’70, writes: “Bonnie combined a tremendous technical ability with a deep abiding passion and concern for other living creatures and the world they inhabit. That shows up in her early social work and community action jobs, her time as an ombudsperson for the startup HMO Cascade Health Care, later as a customer care specialist and systems analyst in the information technology department for various banks and finally Con-Way Trucking. While she was holding all of those positions, she actively participated with Oregon Equestrian Trails, which campaigns to keep Oregon trails and the environment generally open for use by people and their horses. Poet Gary (’51) Snyder’s book Mountains and Rivers without End was everywhere in her thoughts and actions.” Bonnie was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer in 2009, shortly after returning from a trip to Iran in search of oriental rugs. Her response to her diagnosis was a renewed determination to live every moment to its fullest. She took early retirement, which freed her to travel to Turkey and China (more carpets!), and to Hawaii, Washington, and California. She went horse camping on Mount Hood and participated in maintaining various horse campgrounds. Not content with that, she embarked upon the study of Argentine tango and tai chi chuan, including the sword form. She volunteered with the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Oregon and Southwest Washington and with support groups for women with reproductive cancers. She served as a consumer reviewer for Ovarian Cancer Research Program proposals for the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. Bonnie spent the final weeks of her life at home in rural Oregon, surrounded by her family and close friends. According to her wishes, she was cremated wearing an old pair of jeans, a T-shirt with the John Muir quote “The mountains are calling and I must go,” earrings from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, sexy underwear, and red satin tango shoes. This memorial was written by Deborah Ross ’68, who helped care for Bonnie and her family in the final weeks of Bonnie’s life. Survivors include David and two grown children.

Appeared in Reed magazine: June 2014

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