Bonnie Dunham

Bonnie Dunham, 85, passed away on March 26th, 2026 at her home in Frankenmuth, Michigan. She will be fondly remembered by those whose lives she touched as “The sweetest person I have ever met”. Bonnie was a loving and caring mother to her two sons, adored her grandchildren, and spent sixty-two years with the love of her life, Dan Dunham.

Bonnie was born on October 29, 1940, in Vermillion, South Dakota where her father, Fred Dick Jr., was completing residency for his medical degree. In 1941, Fred left for the war and her mother, Thelma Dick, relocated them to Waverly, Iowa and then Cedar Falls, Iowa to be close to her parents. After her father’s return from the war in 1945, the family lived in Georgia, Indiana, and Ohio, finally settling in Waterloo, Iowa in 1954. Bonnie graduated from West Waterloo High School in 1959 where she first met Dan. Upon graduation, Bonnie attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and returned to Waterloo in 1961 where she and Dan were united in marriage. Bonnie trained to be a clinical cytologist at Allen Hospital while Dan was finishing his degree at State College of Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Clinical Cytology was her profession for the rest of her working career. In 1967, Bonnie and Dan moved to Dubuque, Iowa, with two young sons in tow, where Bonnie continued her career in cytology at a local hospital laboratory and Dan was hired as a high school teacher and wrestling coach. It was a busy, challenging time for the young family, raising two boys while balancing work and home life. Bonnie was a consummate homemaker, a compassionate, loving mother to her children, and a dedicated partner to her husband, Dan, who spent many nights and weekends traveling with the high school sports teams. She also enjoyed the many trips to the family cabin on Lake Sissabagama in northern Wisconsin and visits to their getaway property on the Mississippi River in Lansing Iowa. Dan and the boys loved to fish and Bonnie would always coax the “men” away from fishing time to enjoy local shops, tourist attractions, and restaurants. As Bonnie and Dan neared retirement, in 1985, they moved to their final residency in Iowa, living on a high ridge overlooking the beautiful Mississippi River Valley in Balltown, Iowa.

Bonnie was a very artistic person who expressed her talents through painting porcelain and eventually painting barn quilts. She was very active in the Doll community, making and painting many porcelain dolls, collecting antique dolls, and sharing this passion with her mother, Thelma, and her sister, Pat. Bonnie was very passionate about her family genealogy, maternal and paternal, spending many hours on research and documentation to leave the legacies for her family. She also enjoyed plants and flowers and spent much of her adult life elbow-deep in potting soil to create a beautiful surrounding for all to enjoy.

Bonnie is survived by her two sons, David (Christine) Dunham and Douglas Dunham; sister, Patricia (Bob) McCabe; brother, John Dick; sister-in-law, Judy Robb; grandchildren, Nick (Jennifer) Jones, David Dunham, Emily (Alex) Kuzmanovic, Kaylyn (Chad) Welsh, and Hannah Dunham; and seven great-grandchildren. Bonnie was preceded in death by her husband, Daniel Dunham; parents, Fred Dick Jr. and Thelma (Titus) Dick; and brother, Fred Dee.

Per Bonnie’s request, the family is having a private celebration in Michigan. In lieu of flowers, Bonnie has requested that donations be made to support the annual Dan Dunham Heritage Classic Youth Day. Please make checks out to “DubuqueLand Pheasants Forever” and mail donation to: D. Dunham, P.O. Box 97, Vassar, MI 48768.