Bonnie May Nedrow (Scott) Kelso, 73, lost her valiant battle with cancer on July 5, 2005, with her husband, Don, daughter, Michelle, and stepdaughter, Jan, by her side.
Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. at the Ustick Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Meridian between Linder and Ten Mile Road. A graveside service and dedication will be at the new Veterans Cemetery in Boise.
Bonnie was born at Hilgard outside of La Grande on Aug. 17, 1931, to John Nathan Nedrow and Evelyn May Ashby Nedrow. She and her family lived in small towns around Baker City and they also lived a time in Yellow Pine, Idaho.
At the age of 13, Bonnie’s parents settled in the little green house at 3425 13th St. in Baker City. Bonnie’s dad farmed alfalfa where the prison now stands. The old Air Force base and Linscotts were fixtures in Bonnie’s children’s minds. Sadly, this home is now gone.
Bonnie was a 1949 graduate of Baker High School. She later attended business school in Baker City.
She married Barney Duncan on Feb. 27, 1951. They were divorced a short time later.
Bonnie married Jim Cardwell on Jan. 11, 1952. They had four children. While married to Jim, Bonnie traveled with him to different Air Force bases: Hawaii, Johnston Island and Wiesbaden, Germany. They divorced in 1962.
Bonnie lived a short time at the Strauss house on Baker Street between Ninth and 10th streets after returning from Germany in late 1961. In the summer of 1963 she bought the gray house with pink trim at 1350 Fifth Street. Her stepson, Paul, named the house “The Leaning Tower Of Baker.”
Bonnie joined the LDS church in March of 1963. She served in many church positions. Bonnie’s passion was genealogy. Many cemeteries in Eastern Oregon have faded footprints of Bonnie’s search for family members who have passed on.
A Church member had borrowed Bonnie’s sewing machine and had her son return it to Bonnie. She and this man, David ‘R’ Scott were later married on Oct. 31, 1964. David soon adopted Bonnie’s four children and he added two stepsons, David and Paul, to the family. The younger David was on a mission for the LDS Church when they married.
David and Bonnie then moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. The family settled at Fremont, Calif. Bonnie worked for the Alameda County Welfare Department in Fremont.
Bonnie and David divorced in 1972 and Bonnie was anxious to move out of California, back up north.
Bonnie married William B. Everett in August of 1974 and they divorced in 1978. Just days before Bonnie’s death, Bill’s daughter, Debbie Shrader, thanked Bonnie for all she had done for her family, including helping them move out of California.
Bonnie moved to Meridian, Idaho, in 1976. She chose Idaho because she knew she could find gainful employment in Boise, she but was still close enough to her father and uncles in Baker City and La Grande. She worked for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare until she retired in 1995.
Bonnie married Donald H. Kelso on Dec. 8, 1979. They lived at Boise until 1990 when they purchased a home and some land at Meridian. Don raised cows and pigs and Bonnie always had her beloved Boston terriers.
After Bonnie retired from Health and Welfare, she opened her own candy store for a short time at Meridian. Bonnie gladly gave the extra candy to her children and grandchildren and donated many pounds of candy to the local Senior Center at Meridian.
She loved setting up and selling things at the local flea markets and antique shows. Bonnie made many a sweet tooth happy with her homemade confections. Bonnie also enjoyed e-Bay and purchased many things, especially buttons.
The family expressed appreciation to the staff at Horizon Hospice for their tender care of Bonnie, especially Jodi, whose visits were always a bright spot in Bonnie’s last days.
Survivors include her husband, Don, of Meridian; her oldest daughter, Lorelei Nalley, and her husband, Charles, of Baker City and their children Coralei, Andrew, Veronica, Vertawn and Dominick; her daughter, Leilani Denney, and her husband, Byron, of Arimo, Idaho, and their children, Heather, Caleb, and Alicia; her son, James Scott, and his wife, Cyndi, of Eagle, Idaho, and their children, Chad and Jared; her daughter, Michelle March, and her former husband, John, of Nampa, Idaho, and their children, James and Joseph; Don’s children: Butch, and his wife, Sandy, of Texas and their children, Hallie and Shawn, Larry and Debbie of Baker City and son, Brett, Jan Groves and her husband, Jerry, of Nampa, Idaho, and their sons, Tim and Jamie, Jeff and his wife, Pam, of Pensacola, Fla., and Boyd of Seattle, Wash; Paul Scott of Patterson Calif.; the eight Everett children: Vance, Steven, Debbie, Keith, Bryan, Vikki, Lorry and Larry, of Idaho, Utah and California; her two known remaining cousins, Florence Nedrow and Joan Schaber of Richland; and her brother-in-law, Ken, and his wife, Betty Narkaus of Astoria and their three children, Kenna, Gary and Larry.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her beloved twin uncles, Henry and Harry Ashby and his wife, Sadie; Wes Nedrow and his wife, Myrtle; Andrew Nedrow and his wife, Eva; Edward Nedrow; her only sibling, Betty Narkaus, of Astoria, who also died from the effects of cancer just 25 days prior to Bonnie; her stepson, David Scott; and her cousin,Ethel Jones.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, July 15, 2005
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor