Bonnie Dalton

May 1, 1935 - April 13, 2014

Bonnie LaRae Berrett Dalton passed away surrounded by family on April 13, 2014. Bonnie was born to Josephine Jensen and Floyd Edward Berrett on May Day in 1935. Raised in Seattle with her brother Frank and her sister Judy Ane (twin sisters Jeanne and Janice died as infants), Bonnie was devoted to her family and formed genuine, lasting friendships. As a teenager, Bonnie was so beloved that her peers wrote her in on the ballot to elect her as president of the Lincoln High School Girl’s Club. She continued to lift, inspire, and lead her fellow students at Brigham Young University as AWS president. It was deeply important to Bonnie to reach individual women while imparting energy and encouragement to many. Bonnie met Gene Wray Dalton her senior year. They fell in love and were married in the Idaho Falls temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1957. Bonnie and Gene moved to Texas and then to the Boston area. In their 14 years there, they formed cherished friendships and welcomed five daughters to their home. They then chose to settle in Provo, Utah, where three more daughters were born into their family. Bonnie served extensively in the Primary, Relief Society, and Young Women. She served on the Young Women’s General Board, insightfully contributing to the redesign of Personal Progress. Bonnie also taught as an elementary school teacher, pouring enormous effort into understanding how each child learns. She immersed her students in poetry, theater, and reading, instilling in them a love of language. After 40 years of marriage, Gene passed away in 1997. Characteristically, Bonnie turned to service, traveling to the Marshallese Islands for a season to teach at the Queen of Peace High School. As a couple, Bonnie and Gene had planned to serve an LDS mission. In 2004, Bonnie singly fulfilled that hope in the Boston mission. Bonnie actively sought opportunities to serve in every stage of her life. She opened her home to foster children, foreign exchange students, daughters of friends, and many women during their BYU education. As a teacher and leader, Bonnie deliberately set aside the extraneous in order to find true needs and seek untapped capacities to meet them. As a mother, sister, daughter, and friend, Bonnie was unfailingly giving and loyal. She lived her life with conscious intent, indefatigable in her efforts to lift and better and love the many lives she touched. Bonnie will be missed by her surviving sister Judy Ane Berrrett, daughters Denise Dalton, Carrie Sandholtz (Kurt), Sara Dalton (Stuart), Beth Tueller (Jim), Rachel Knudson (Garth), Josie Esplin (Todd), Louisa Hudock (Robert), Jennie Bowen (Brigham), 36 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren. Friends may call Friday, April 18, from 5:30-7:00 pm at the Oak Hills Stake Center, 925 East North Temple Drive, and Saturday, April 19, from 9:30-10:30 am. A memorial service will follow at 11 am. Interment in East Lawn Memorial Hills, 4800 North 650 East, Provo, Utah. Funeral Directors: Utah Valley Mortuary.