Bette Bonds

Bette Virginia (Heckendorn) Bonds was born in San Jon NM in 1935. She traveled far and wide from there, with her final resting place in Broomfield, CO.

Bette was married to Bill Bonds for 44 years. They had four children, six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and as of last summer, one great-great-grandson, all of whom benefitted from her life-long love affair with babies. Babies were so much more fun when Bette was bringing out their smiles and coos and goos.

Bette devoted her early married years to raising kids while supporting her husband’s career moves around New Mexico plus a short stint in New Jersey. When her husband opened his own CPA office, Bette worked alongside him for several years, helping to make it a thriving success. She was an active volunteer for numerous organizations including the school library, tutoring 1 st and 2 nd graders in reading, Camp Fire Girls, Myasthenia Gravis organization, baked a million cookies for DeMolay boys, helped low-income taxpayers prepare their tax returns, was the volunteer coordinator for Meals on Wheels, and many other acts of kindness and charity. When she first moved to Broomfield in her seventies, she especially enjoyed her volunteer job driving people to doctor appointments. Since she was new to the metro area, she taught herself how to use Google Maps to be sure she always got her patients to their doctors on time.

Bette loved to spread out roadmaps and plan driving trips, finding interesting side trips that were just another inch or two off the beaten track. And all her trips included her famous applesauce cake!

Besides the driving trips, she also travelled to Hong Kong, Mainland China, the British Isles, Ireland, Germany (and France via a mistaken turn), Mexico, Canada, and almost every corner of the United States. Bill and Bette were in Canada when the 9/11 attack occurred. Unable to fly home, they drove their rental car, a purple PT Cruiser, all the way from British Columbia to Albuquerque, where it sat in the airport rental lot for years, looking lost and lonely with its Canadian license plates.

Bette’s greatest artistic talent was her sewing. She produced the most original creations combining multiple patterns, and usually cussing through the entire process because she didn’t buy quite enough material. Yet it always came out beautifully. She made everything from wedding and flower girl gowns, to matching granddaughter and doll outfits, to a pillow for her son’s butt-ugly pug.

Bette enjoyed plays and art, though nothing excited her as much as sharing a beautiful sunset with neighbors on her porch, with wine. She loved her crossword puzzles and reading, often finishing a book a night. She was a well-rounded, intelligent, funny, socially aware person who was more interested in other people than in herself.

Bette was a rock-solid source of support for her family and friends. She organized get-togethers or travel plans with consideration for everyone’s needs and preferences, like the time she put together a vacation for her entire family for a week along the Oregon Coast in beach houses. She was a superlative baby-sitter. She has graciously opened her home to out-of-town relatives when they had hospital stays. Everyone knew they could rely on her to do whatever was needed, no fuss, no bother, and please–no thanks!