Bonita Hesse Chandler

March 16, 1927 - November 26, 2017

Bonita Hesse Chandler, 90, passed away peacefully on November 26, 2017 at 1:20 pm. She was surrounded by loving family. She will always be remembered as an outgoing, honest, and deeply caring mother, grandmother, and teacher.

Bonita (Bonnie) was born in March 16, 1927 in Wallowa Oregon to Everett Mosby Hesse and Frieda Scott Hesse. She grew up in Oregon and Colorado and discovered her love of education attending the one room schoolhouse where her mother was a teacher. Bonnie graduated from the Eastern Oregon College with a degree in education and went on to receive her masters degree in education from Stanford University. Over her 56 years of teaching, Bonnie taught elementary school in Seattle WA, Glendale CA, Honolulu HI, and Los Altos CA. She went on to teach at Bing Nursery School, the lab school for the Stanford psychology department. She was the head teacher in center room and in the two’s class for many years. In addition to working with young children, Bonnie also taught a Stanford lecture class in childhood observation. Bonnie will always be remembered for her natural ability to appreciate and encourage every child’s individuality.

Bonnie was an avid reader, a poet, and a current event enthusiast. She ran the forum discussion group at the Unitarian Church in Palo Alto and continued to do so at The Redwoods Senior Community where she lived her last four and a half years. Bonnie was a devoted volunteer reading to the blind and working at the Palo Alto library used book room. Bonnie had an innate ability to converse and connect with everyone she met. Her magnetic personality, warm heart, and frank (sometimes humorous) advice will be fondly remembered.

Bonnie is survived by her husband of 53 years, William Herrick Chandler, her children Rebecca Collins and Gwen Day, and her grandchildren Emily Collins, Bonnie Collins, Lily Day, Sophie Day, and Colin Day. She will be dearly missed by the many whose lives she touched in her 90 years.

A celebration of Bonnie’s life will be held at The Redwoods Senior Community on March 18, 2018 at 2:00 pm.