Bonnie Irene (Reed) Bollman

Bonnie Irene (Reed) Bollman, 102, of Hillsboro, IL, passed away on December 23, 2019 at 2:35 a.m. at Montgomery County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Taylor Springs, IL. Visitation will be held on Saturday, December 28, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Bass Patton Dean Funeral Home in Hillsboro, IL. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 28, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at Bass Patton Dean Funeral Home in Hillsboro, IL. Retired Reverend Dorothy Browning, Bonnie’s niece, will officiate, and burial will take place in Sunnyside Cemetery in Sorento, IL.

 Ms. Bollman was born on November 23, 1917 in Sorento, IL to the late John Cary and Gertie Belle (Martin) Reed. She attended Sorento High School in Sorento, IL, and graduated from Greenville High School in Greenville, IL. She received her Bachelor of Science in Education from Greenville College in Greenville, IL; and her Master of education from the University of Illinois. Bonnie was one of the last group that was allowed to begin teaching with a three year degree.  She continued her education while teaching and raising her family, receiving her official four year BS in 1957.  Bonnie taught grade school, usually 3rd or 4th grade, at Witt, Nilwood and Girard, IL before retiring after spending many years at Pawnee.  She married George Oren Bollman on November 23, 1939 in St. Charles, MO; he preceeded in death on March 25, 2006. The couple was married on Bonnie’s birthday and it was also Thanksgiving Day that year.     

 Ms. Bollman was a member of Woman’s Club; Montgomery Retired Teachers; Evergreen Outreach; Litchfield Kitchen Band; Tri-Church Choir; Writers Group through Lincoln Land Community College; and Business and Professional Women, where she instituted a Career Night at Hillsboro High School.  She volunteered with Reach for Recovery, a breast cancer support group; and she was one of the founding group for the Montgomery County Cancer Association (MCCA).  She was a long time member of the Free Methodist Church in Hillsboro, IL, where she served as pianist, Christian education Director, Sunday School teacher, Central Illinois conference prayer promoter, among many other volunteer responsibilities.  She accepted leadership roles in many of the organizations she was a member of.  Bonnie painted, but was best known for her poems which she made into cards that she enjoyed giving to people she met.  She was a prolific poetry writer, sometimes writing one in two minutes. Ms. Bollman lived in Girard, IL; Sorento, IL; and Hillsboro, IL throughout her life.

 Ms. Bollman is survived by her two daughters, Bonnidee “Bunny” Lewis of Greenville, IL and Georgia Merriman of Garland, TX; as well as one sister, Thelma Gettings of Tucson, AZ; five grandchildren, Kathy (husband, Dan) Shimer, Jeffery (wife, Sun) Lewis, Jeremy (wife, Victoria) Lewis, Traci Lopez and Jason Merriman; six great-grandchildren, Zoe (husband, Adam) Dachroeden, Levi Hueter, Dylan Lewis, Andrew Lewis, Hannah Lewis, and Brandon Lopez; one great-great grandchild, Zachary Lopez; and one on the way, Emmi, in February, 2020.

 Along with her parents, John and Gertie (Martin) Reed and husband, George Oren Bollman, Ms. Bollman was preceded in death by two son-in-laws, Gary Lewis and Frank Merriman; and her siblings, James Thomas Reed, Pearl Ray, Mary Jane Nemec, Winnie File, Opal Coyle, and Jason Dale in infancy.

 Memorials may be given to Montgomery County Cancer Association (MCCA) or Montgomery County Nursing & Rehabilitation Center Activity Department. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Bonnie Irene (Reed) Bollman, please visit our floral store.