Bonnie Lee Barning, 88, of Evansville, IN, passed away Sunday, June 9, 2019 at Miller’s Health and Rehabilitation in LaPorte, Indiana, with her daughter by her side.
She was born on October 26, 1930 in Evansville, Indiana, the daughter of Elmer and Isabel (Strange) Stratman.
Bonnie was a Master Gardener and had a particular love for Bearded Iris and Hostas. She enjoyed playing bridge, loved music and singing in her church choir (UCC). She served many years as a Girl Scout leader and also as president of the Tekoppel Elementary School Parent Teacher Association. She worked as a secretary for Prudential Life Insurance, Harris Upham Brokerage Firm, Hobart Brothers and the Indiana State Board of Health.
After retirement she lived in Richmond, Indiana. There, she was a member of the P.E.O., the Richmond Petal and Stem Garden Club, she served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Hendricks County Bluebird Society, and occasionally volunteered at the Richmond Rose Garden and Vaile Elementary School.
Bonnie, was a majorette in the Reitz H.S. Marching Band where she met her future husband Phil, a drummer! On February 9, 1951, in Evansville, IN, she married that high school sweetheart, Carl Phillip Barning Jr., who preceded her in death on October 25, 1944.
She is survived by her daughter, Carrie Ann (Harold) Carlson, of Rolling Prairie, IN; five grandchildren, Christopher (Tanya) Hitch, Erinn (Tom) Jankowski, Craig (Whitney) Carlson, Brian (Angela) Carlson, Rebecca (Matthew) Williamson; six great-grandchildren, Ozzy Jankowski, Conrad Carlson, Emma and Avery Carlson, Benjamin and Henry Williamson. She was preceded in death by her parents and her daughter Beth Lynn (Richard) Hitch.
Arrangements are being entrusted to Haverstock Funeral Home. The family will receive friends on Monday, June 17, 2019, from 4:00pm-7:00pm CST and Tuesday, June 18, 2019 from 9:00am-10:00am CST at Alexander Funeral Home West Chapel, 2100 West Illinois Street, Evansville, Indiana 47712. A Celebration of Life will be held on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 10:00am CST followed by burial at Tupman Cemetery, 1601 Red Bank Road, Evansville, IN.