Bonnie Lee Mickiewicz

She worked as a crossing guard and loved greeting the people who passed by each day. Wanting to brighten their mornings, she decided to wear a different hat every day therefore she became a local sensation of the Hat Lady. Before long, more and more people were waving and smiling as they drove by. Seeing those smiles brought her great joy.

More than anything, Bonnie loved being a grandmother. She proudly referred to her grandchildren as the “Original Six Plus One”–Bonnie, April, Andrew, Donald III, Ashley, Abbi, and later Alysse. It was a nickname she created because one grandchild seemed to arrive almost every year for six years, and then, after a gap, came one more. She made it a priority to keep the cousins close and created lasting memories by taking them camping each year at the same campground where she had once taken her own children.

As her grandchildren began having families of their own, Bonnie’s heart grew even fuller. She cherished her great-grandchildren: Hannah, her “birthday buddy,” George, Jack, Ben, Preston, Annabelle, Jonah, Reagan, Rowan, Jordyn, and Spencer. Her joy expanded once again when she became a great-great-grandmother to Sofia and Miguel.

Whenever she gathered with her family, Bonnie would proudly say to anyone willing to listen, “I started all this.”

Bonnie is survived by her son, Russell McLaughlin, and daughter, Gail Rinaldi; her sister, Diana Mousseau; her brother, Charles Titus; and many nieces and nephews who held a special place in her heart. She is also lovingly remembered by her former daughters-in-law, Jan Porch and Sally McLaughlin.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Howard; her sons, Donald McLaughlin Jr. and Terry McLaughlin; her sister, Edith McShane; and her granddaughters, Abbigail Rinaldi and Amanda McLaughlin.

Fassbender Swanson Hansen Funeral and Cremation Service is serving the family where condolences may be left online at www.fassbenderswansonhansen.com