Bonnie Rae Hull King Anderson

June 21, 1931 - August 22, 2015

There is no encapsulating the life of Bonnie Rae Anderson. She was born to Benjamin and Nina Hull, the first daughter of six girls. At the age of 18 months, her mother found her on the front porch with a hammer in hand. She had nailed nails in a straight row across the porch. This was just a prelude to the life she would lead. Her mother would give her and her sister’s graham crackers. Bonnie would ask her sisters if they wanted an animal shape from their cracker and would then proceed to nibble away their cracker into the shape they desired. Thus eating most of the graham crackers, but thrilling her sisters with an animal. Near the age of nine, she built a fort with an uncle who was about the same age. This fort was not just any fort. It would become known and used as the bunkhouse and is still standing. She also took wooden orange crates and built a high chair for her sister Melba. When she was thirteen, while her parents were at the New Years Eve Dance she wallpapered her sister’s bedroom with ceiling paper. She scalloped the edges of this white ceiling paper and cut out flowers from the small amount of colored wallpaper they had to embellish the white paper. Her Sister Donna still recalls how beautiful it was. She taught herself to play the piano. Growing up she made all of her sister’s clothing. If there was a dance or date, she would whip up something special for them to wear. She made draperies and bedspreads, vanity tables, and doll clothes. Her sisters always compared her to “Jo” from Little Women. She was always looking to serve her family. Growing up her family moved several times. She went to first grade at an Indian School in Furnas Creek near Death Valley California. To this day she loved the heat. Bonnie was very talented. She had her own business, Bonnie’s Draperies and Gifts. She ran this business for over 40 years. She trained many people in drapery making and sewing. Her draperies were superior in quality and she was sought after all over southern Idaho. She was an interior decorator. She loved colors and putting them together. She helped decorate all of her sister’s homes and many of her children’s homes. There were many incidents in her life but one that is often retold is about her and her sister, Jewel. They were working on a house remodeling and decorating. The home they were working on was in Hagerman, Idaho a distance from Twin Falls where she lived. One day they had been laying a lava rock wall using black mortar. They became very blackened. She then, never using a paint sprayer, turned it upon herself, painting herself white. They went to return home and the car broke down. Here she was all white with black eyes, my aunt blackened. My mother prayed for assistance and along came a black limousine. They both felt like they couldn’t get in as dirty as they were, but the gentleman insisted that he help them. No one can imagine what he thought upon looking at their appearance. So they got in and he brought them home. While traveling in the car they visited and my mom turned to the gentleman and said “You know you look kind of familiar.” It turned out to be the Governor of Idaho. She also had a catering and wedding business. She made wedding dresses and decorated wedding cakes. She built the fountains for the punch she served, as well as the backdrops for the receiving lines. She remade furniture all the time. When sectional couches first came out, she took and cut her couch in half so she could have a sectional. Her husband, when seeing what she had done, went and bought her all the tools she would need to do upholstery so she could do it right. Doing upholstery became a part of her business. She always saved things so she could repurpose them later. She remade chairs, tables, beds, desks, lamps, anything to make it fit with her creation. She created beautiful porcelain drape dolls. Her passion was ceramics. She made some of her own molds. She saw while traveling in Madrid, Spain a candelabrum made from porcelain and decided she wanted one like it. It currently hangs over her dining room table. She and her sister Melba painted a mural on the wall of her home. She china painted, tole painted, oil painted and loved art. Her home was always changing. She always looked for ways to improve upon what she had. If she wanted a wall moved she moved it, even if it was a few inches at a time. She had a doorway in her dining room that she wanted moved, but her husband didn’t. While he was at work she would move it a couple of inches, painting and finishing it each time. He never noticed until one night upon coming home way late he walked into the wall. By that time the doorway had moved about 4 feet. She built and decorated two homes, and remodeled many. Anyone who visited her was put on a project, whether it was moving shrubs and bushes, pouring concrete, wiring a light fixture, moving a staircase, putting in a bathroom or putting on a balcony. This continued until the very day she died. She loved to be doing. When sitting at a table her leg would be bouncing with energy. She did not like to be idle. She would gallop through the hallways in her home. She loved to sing and sang with many choral groups throughout her life. She participated in road shows, singing and creating costumes. She loved bowling and bowled on a bowling league. Bonnie was remembered everywhere she went. Whenever you would go somewhere she had been and mentioned her name, they knew her. She was notorious. Store clerks and Planning and Zoning all knew who she was and made special allowances for her. She could get the best deals and service all the time. It became a family joke that all you had to do was take her with you and she could make what she wanted happen like magic. Chinese Checkers was her favorite game. She taught anyone who would play with her how to play. Every night before going to bed her husband would play this with her. She often was found playing herself after his death. She always won no matter who she played. Her parents taught her about hard work and service to the Lord. She served in many capacities in the church from a pianist in Primary to Stake Leader in MIA. She served a mission in the Bishop Storehouse. She served in the canneries and farms of the church welfare program. She loved the temple and went often. She loved going to the MTC and being an “investigator”. Her door was always open to family and strangers. She had a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which she shared often. She raised a family of eight children. She gave them all a strong sense of independence and instilled in them the knowledge that they could do anything. Her life’s motto was “If there is a will, there is a way” and she lived it. She had complete faith in her Father in Heaven. Her prayers were always answered. Many times as she would need assistance someone would knock on the door in answer to her prayer. She was highly favored by her Father in Heaven. She loved her children and grandchildren. She saved all their letters and announcements. She was very proud of their achievements and spoke often of them to her friends. Her husband, Jerald was devoted to her. They are now together. Her talents and creativity will be greatly missed. She was well loved. “She was a seamstress, pottery maker, florist, artist, chef, home decorator, ceramics maker, plumber, builder, architect, landscaper, gardener, storyteller, genealogist, scriptorian, poet, spiritual guide post, hard worker, kind, loving, and amazing! Grandma Bonnie loved her family and was proud of her heritage.” Michelle King, Granddaughter "Whether it was moving heavy furniture or cement blocks, knocking down walls, terracing back yards, or building houses, my 84 year old mother-in-law could run circles around me on my best day. She was the hardest working woman I've ever known, and like the Energizer bunny kept going until the very end. While we will all miss her spunk, nobody is more deserving of rest. How thrilled she must be to be reunited with her dear husband and son...." She will be missed! Molly King, Daughter-in-Law Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, August 27, 2015 in the Pleasant View 1st Ward Chapel, 650 East Stadium Avenue, Provo, Utah. Friends may call at the church from 8:30-9:30 a.m. prior to services. Interment will be in the View Cemetery in View, Idaho. Condolences may be extended to the family at www.bergmortuary.com.