Bonnie Mager
March 14, 1945 - January 18, 2015
Bonnie Jean Mager passed away on January 18, 2015, in Berkeley, California, from the effects of pancreatic cancer. A survivor in recent years of multiple myeloma, she was diagnosed with cancer in early December 2014, so her suffering was mercifully short.
Bonnie, the daughter of Carl Eugene Braniger and Mary Mossberger Braniger, was born in Riverside, California on March 14, 1945. After graduation from Riverside Polytechnic High School, she moved to northern California to attend the University of California at Davis and then to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of California at San Francisco. She had a varied career over more than thirty years with the Alameda County Health Department, working first as a visiting nurse, then as a clinical nurse, and finally as a health care program administrator.
Although nursing was her vocation, it was only a part of her active life. She began painting as a serious amateur in the early 1970’s, initially in oils but later in watercolors, pastels, and acrylics. As she loved company while doing her art, she was a long-term member of many painting classes around the East Bay. She also loved to show her work at such venues as The Faculty Club on the University of California Berkeley campus.
Bonnie also loved participating in clubs. In her last months she was president of the Home Gardeners club and served on the membership committee of the Town and Gown club. She also enjoyed membership in the The Claremont Club, a knitting circle, a Spanish conversational salon, and other organizations. Although high school was a distant memory, every year she reunited with a large group of her “Poly Girls.”
She loved to travel. From her earliest family car trips in the American West to her final years’ ecological tours of the Galapagos Islands and Costa Rica, she immersed herself in the natural history and culture of her destinations and did her best to communicate with everyone she encountered.
Bonnie spent as much time as she could in her beautiful garden, part of which was being renovated at the time of her death. This spot that she loved so much will be the final resting place for her ashes.
As a young working mother, she helped to start a neighborhood group of families revolving around their homes and children. The group has held together over nearly forty years, and the other members were among those friends and family who provided invaluable support to Bonnie during her final illness.
Bonnie is survived by her husband of forty-three years, Herb, of Oakland; her son, Evan, daughter-in-law, Liz, and twin granddaughters, Isabelle and Victoria, of Redwood City; and her brother, Bob, and sister-inlaw Kate, of Riverside. Bonnie’s parents predeceased her. She also leaves behind countless friends and extended family members.
A memorial service will be held in the spring, but no date has been set. In lieu of flowers the family suggests a donation to the Nursing Scholarship Fund in Memory of Bonnie Mager at the UCSF Foundation, University of California at San Francisco.