Geraldine West Spurr

Geraldine “Bonnie” West Spurr (née Boericke) was born on July 24, 1933 in the Miner's Hospital in Tonopah, Nye County, Nevada and peacefully passed away under the care of Evergreen Hospice at “Home Again” Adult Family Home in Mountlake Terrace, Washington at 7:30 am on May 23, 2018.

She was the daughter of the late Fredric “Fred” Schoff Boericke and the late Gabrielle Marjorie ”Gay” (née Hopkinson-Evans) Boericke Chick. Her paternal Grandparents were the late John James and the late Edith Gertrude "Mombie" (née Schoff) Boericke. Bonnie's maternal Grandparents were the late Francis "Frank" and the late Dorothy “Collie” (née West) Hopkinson-Evans both born and raised in England and immigrated to Pennsylvania in the early 1900’s.

Early on Geraldine was nicknamed “Bonnie” by one of her grandmothers because she was merry and very lively “bonnie lass”!

Bonnie's first home was the Round Mountain Gold Camp in Round Mountain, Nevada. The camp is located about 55 miles North from the Miner’s Hospital in Tonopah, Nevada where Bonnie was born. This is the same town her parents were married in following her father Fred's 1932 graduation from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where he earned a Bachelor degree in Chemistry. Her father first went to work in the mine as a laborer and rose to become an assayer.

At age 5 Bonnie's parents took her back East to Pennsylvania for a visit with both their families. On September 18, 1938 Bonnie was baptized at St. Martins Episcopal Church in Radnor, Delaware, Pennsylvania.

Bonnie's family moved from Round Mountain, Nevada to Walnut Creek, California where her father worked for U. S. Steel. They later moved to Contra Costa, California and in 1940 they moved to Berkeley, California where her father Fred was employed as a Chemistry Professor at the University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley).

Her parents divorced when Bonnie was a young teen and her father remarried. While Bonnie's father and his new wife Edith Irene Boericke (née Rutter) ironed out their future family plans Bonnie and her new Step-Sister who was also her Distant Cousin, Barbara Grace Boericke daughter of her new Step-Mother, were sent off to live at the St. Rose Catholic boarding School in Santa Rosa, California.

Their family eventually moved to Pasadena where Bonnie graduated from South Pasadena High School and then attended San Jose State University in San Jose, California where she majored in Elementary Education.

Seven days following her 20th birthday July 24, 1953 which was during the Korean War, Bonnie enlisted in the Women's Army Corp (WAC's) where she attained the rank of Private Second Class. She was stationed in Huston, Texas where she attended and graduated on January 29, 1954 from the Medical Laboratory Procedures Course, Class #109, Medical Field Service School, Brook Army Medical Center, Ft Sam Huston, Texas. She worked as a Clerk/Typist while stationed in Texas and Arizona.

Bonnie said that when she realized that she was pregnant during a relationship with James “Jaime” L. Harasha, who was also a military member she went to her superior officer who told her that the WAC's was no place for a young pregnant woman. Sometime following that she was honorably discharged at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on September 2, 1954.

Sometime after Bonnie’s discharge from the WAC’s arrangements were made in Elizabeth, New Jersey with an Episcopalian Priest and his wife who opened their home for her to stay in until after her son was born at a local area Catholic hospital. Some of our family believe the arrangement were made through Catholic Charities.

Bonnie's only stipulation regarding the adoption of her baby was the baby only be adopted by an Episcopalian couple to which the priest and his wife agreed to make sure would take place. Toward the end of her life Bonnie couldn’t remember the names of the Priest or his wife and no one in our family knows their names either or if they were the couple who adopted

Bonnie’s baby boy.

Bonnie gave her son the birth name: Fredric Schoff Boericke II and named him after her father. Incidentally, the birth father had an older brother who was named Frederick "Fred" John Harasha.

Her baby was immediately taken from her at birth and she was not allowed to see or hold him.

The priest and his wife drove Bonnie back to their home and a few days later drove her to the hospital to sign the final adoption release papers that are believed to have been done through Catholic Charities in or around Elizabeth, New Jersey. Bonnie stated she didn’t drive back then and was still groggy from medications given for the birth so she barely remembered signing the adoption release paperwork at the time she signed them.

Following the birth Bonnie called her father in California who wired her train fare to travel back home.

Bonnie never forgot her baby son and over the years prayed for him and his adopted family always hoping one day she would find him and know how his life went and that he would know that he was loved by her.

Bonnie married her first husband, Richard “Rich” Arnold on January 21, 1956 at Portuguese Bend, California. Two years later they were divorced.

Bonnie married her second husband, Floyd "Buster" Bertram Nelson Jr., at the Hollywood Presbyterian Church on December 27, 1958 in Hollywood, California. Floyd was a wounded Korean War veteran who became a high profile war resister and protester. She divorced him in January of 1964.

Her third husband was Raymond "Ray" E Pearson of Los Angeles, California who was part of the Hollywood Bohemian art group Bonnie as a writer was involved with. Ray had become the illustrator for a book she was writing at the time. Bonnie loved to dance and said Ray was a great dancer too. He proposed marriage and whisked her away to San Pablo del Monte, Tlaxcala, Mexico where on April 20, 1962 they were married. During her marriage to Ray they lived in Los Angeles, California where Bonnie owned and operated her own bookkeeping business called “Pearson's Bookkeeping”.

Bonnie said that one morning she awoke to find her husband Ray had packed up all his things and left some time in the night without talking to her or leaving a note of explanation. She had no idea the rest of her life why he had left.

It wasn’t until 3 years after Bonnie’s death that there was contact from Ray’s adult daughter who’d been given away as a baby. The girl had found her birth mother though DNA testing and connected with that woman. While the girl was doing family tree research she saw her birth father’s marriage to Bonnie and paperwork that’s posted on one of our online Ancestry

family trees.

The mystery of Ray disappearance was solved; he’d cheated on Bonnie with a younger woman named Geraldine who was also part of their Bohemian art group. The woman had told Ray she’d been pregnant with his child but gave the baby girl up for adoption and a very angry Ray took off immediately. He left both women high and dry and ran away to Hawaii where he lived for the rest of his life without telling his whereabouts to anyone.

Bonnie first met her fourth husband while she was working as waitress. They both had went their separate ways and married other people. Then one day one of George Harry Balcom's sisters who knew Bonnie called her saying George was now separated from his wife and that they were getting divorced. The sister gave Bonnie his apartment address and encouraged

her to go look him up. Bonnie said she drove by his apartment complex but was afraid to go up to his door, but later on she got courage and moved to a apartment in his apartment complex. They soon renewed their relationship and were married at the courthouse in Virginia City, Nevada on February 20, 1966.

During their marriage Bonnie worked a secretary for the contracting company he owned in San Jose, California.

Bonnie loved and enjoyed musical theater so it was natural for her to take her first young Step-Daughter and Step-Son to see many live musical theater productions on stage in San Francisco and in many other places.

She loved California history and became a noted California historian who wrote for numerous California history newsletters.

One summer while her husband was attending a Boy Scout Leaders training camp she took her 16 year old Step-son on a tour of California’s historic places which include visiting and proudly introducing him as “her son”; “her boy” to her various older cousins in California and back East as well.

Bonnie and her husband George and family were active members of Westhope United Presbyterian Church in Saratoga, California. It was there in January 1977 that she was ordained as a Deacon and also served as their church secretary.

She and her husband George were church youth directors, creating and directing Vacation Bible School programs. They delighted in taking their Westhope youth groups on multiple hikes and camp-outs over the years.

Bonnie and her husband both taught Sunday school there in California. To this day there are grown adults who still love and fondly speak of having Bonnie and George as their church youth leaders and Sunday School teachers.

George and Bonnie were also deeply involved in scouting, serving as Boy Scout and Girl Scout leaders while living in San Jose, California.

She and George Harry were also enthusiastic members of the band boosters for the Westmont high school marching band that their son was a drummer in.

In the late 1970's Bonnie and husband George moved from California where they followed their beloved former Westhope United Presbyterian pastor and his wife to Arizona. There they became active church members of the Verde Valley Baptist Church (now known as Verde Community Church), and became the church’s youth leaders.

They loved to camp and took their youth group on multiple camp-outs as well as leading multiple activities which included making puppets and putting on puppet show at the church. They also taught Sunday School classes and developed and directed the church’s Vacation Bible School programs in the summers.

During this time Bonnie worked as secretary at the Clarksdale Baptist Church, Clarksdale, Arizona. She also worked as Church Secretary at Christ Lutheran Church in Sedona, Arizona. She and her late husband George enjoyed rock hunting, collecting and polishing gem stones as well as attending many rock hound shows. Bonnie herself enjoyed making jewelry and had

an extensive collection of jewelry making tools and supplies.

She loved camping trips and traveling with her husband George. Bonnie worked as their Cottonwood church secretary and her husband George by that time was the church maintenance man until he became to ill to work. Bonnie at that point became his loving caregiver.

Bonnie and George were happily married for 22 years until he passed away from cancer in January of 1988 in Cottonwood, Arizona. They had made prior plans that he would be cremated and he asked that his ashes be sprinkled on the creek they loved to camp by and Bonnie made sure his wish was fulfilled.

A few years following her husband George’s death Bonnie met her fifth and last husband Robert "Bob" Orin Spurr. Bob had become a mutual acquaintance of her and her husband George when Bob came to work as the Verde Valley Baptist school's Principal while Bonnie was church secretary and she and her husband George were the church youth leaders.

Bonnie said that approximately four years following her husband George's passing Bob got up the courage to invite her to their church's Valentine's Day banquet. They hit it off so well that when the banquet was over they went out to a coffee shop where they talked till the shop closed and found themselves staying up talking until the wee hours of the next morning. After that Bob and Bonnie were inseparable and to the delight of their many mutual friends at the church they were married there in Cottonwood on July 15, 1991.

During their marriage Bonnie became a member of the Auxiliary of The Gideon's International in Arizona where her last husband Bob Spurr served as a President of the Arizona State Gideon's for a period of time. Together they worked tirelessly spreading the good news of the Gospel via free Bibles given out at public schools and to the general public during various Gideon campaigns over the years. They had the pleasure of attended many Gideon's International Conventions and conferences all over the nation.

In 1996 Bob and Bonnie heard and heeded the call to go to the mission field of Cote D' Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in West Africa where Bob served as Principal of International Christian Academy/Ivory Coast Academy which was the school for missionary's children from all different denominations and while there Bonnie worked as the Academy’s secretary.

Bob's oldest child Dorrie and husband Dennis Hansen had been missionary's in Mali for years and had their children attending the same mission school. It was a delight for Bonnie to be able to see and work with their grandchildren while working at the school.

Bonnie loved working with all the missionary children and the many villages where they took the mission school students for outreaches. Weekly they took their students to a local orphanage where they shared the love of the Lord with the adorable African orphans. Bonnie cherished the year they worked and lived in the Ivory Coast and were greatly loved in return by students, school staff, local ministries and the many churches where they would go speak at.

Upon their return to America one summer they were thrilled to drive from Arizona to Bob's alum mater, Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois to attend his college class reunion. They enjoyed time along the way stopping to renew many old ministry friendships from past years.

During her lifetime Bonnie lived in the following cities: Round Mountain, Nevada; Contra Costa, California; South Pasadena, California; Elizabeth, New Jersey; Berkeley, California; Santa Rosa, California; San Marino, California; San Jose, California; Cottonwood, Arizona; Bouake, Cote D' Ivoire (Ivory Coast), West Africa; Bainbridge Island, Washington; Bremerton, Washington; Silverdale, Washington; Shoreline, Washington and finally when their health no longer allowed them to live in a retirement community without round the clock medical care for Bob they move to two different Adult Family Homes, the last one named “Home Again” that was located in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

Bonnie had a wonderful sense of humor and an infectious laugh. She was kind, loving and giving to everyone she ever met. She had began writing stories and her personal history at the age 14 and continued writing and desired to have her writings published throughout her life time. Bonnie loved the history of California and carried on her family's tradition of collecting books on the history of America's Southwest and California. At one point in her life she had an extensive library of books on those subjects.

Bonnie’s legacy is one of love for her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She loved everyone she met and most of all she loved the members of her family.

By her life she taught each of us how to unconditionally love everyone you meet during this life journey, how to love life and enjoy small moments of joy and laughter found in each day.

Bonnie is Survived by:

Her son who’s given birth name is Fredric Schoff Boericke II. He was given up for adoption at birth in or near Elizabeth, New Jersey some time in 1955. If and what his birth name was changed to following his adoption is unknown.

Step-Daughter Phyllis Patten (née Balcom) of New Mexico.

Step-Son George Balcom and wife Maria of Washington.

Step-Daughter Adora "Dorrie" (née Spurr) and husband Dennis Hansen of Canada.

Step-Daughter Elizabeth “Liza” (née Spurr) and husband Dave Swanson of Washington.

Step-Son John Spurr and wife Michelle of California.

Half-Sister, Daphne Hyde Chick of Colorado.

Half-Sister Barbara Gay Chick of Baja California Sur.

Half-Brother, Richard Hyde Chick of Colorado.

Also: Thirteen Grandchildren, nine Great Grandchildren and numerous Nieces, Nephews and many Great Nephews as well as many distant Cousins in America and in England.

She was Preceded in Death by:

Her Step-Mother: Edith “Deet” (née Rutter) Boericke, Pacific Grove, California. (1906-1979)

Her father: Fredric "Fred" Schoff Boericke, Pebble Beach, California. (1909-1983)

Her fourth husband: George Harry Balcom, Cottonwood, Arizona. (1926-1988)

Her mother: Gabrielle Marjorie ”Gay” (née Hopkinson-Evans) Chick, Salida, Colorado. (1911-

2004)

Her Step-Brother and Distant Cousin: Arthur Thacher Boericke Jr., San Anselmo, California.

(1927-2006)

Her Step-Sister and Distant Cousin: Barbara Grace (née Boericke) Weitz, Mill Valley,

California (1934-2012)

Her Half-Nephew: Harry Andrew Logue V, of California. (1934-2012)

Her fifth and last husband: Robert “Bob” Orin Spurr (1923-2017)

In Bonnie's later years she wanted to find the son she gave away at birth in the Elizabeth, New Jersey area when she was newly honorably discharged from the WAC's. Her desire to find her birth son was so strong that she wanted and did a DNA test with the help of her Hospice nurse a week before her passing.

Bonnie's desire was that someday she’d find her son Fredric, his wife, her grandchildren or great grandchildren or they would find her and learn that she always loved and prayed for him and that the adoption was done so he might have a better life with a Godly two parent household than she couldn’t give him as a young single woman.

Her DNA results can be found connected to her family tree information on MyHeritage.com:

https://www.myheritage.com/site-family-tree-72989062/contreras?rootIndivudalID=1500166&familyTreeID=1

Her DNA results are also on FamilyTreedna.com that can be found on the following link:

https://tree.familytreedna.com/family-tree/family-view

Bonnie was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and did extensive family tree research on her famous American, German and British ancestors who made awesome contributions to American as well as in their home countries.

Bonnie’s maternal Grandmother, Dorothy Collie “Tan-Tan” (née West) Hopkinson-Evans (1886-1958) was honored by Queen Elizabeth II of England on her Honors List in June 1953 with the title of “Honorary Officer of the Order of The British Empire” for Dorothy’s work in America as the National President of the “Daughters of the British Empire” in the United

States.

Many of Bonnie’s other ancestors were honored and revered by society as well as by American Presidents for their many outstanding national contributions. Bonnie wanted her son to know about his awesome family ancestors who helped in the founding and panorama of American's history.

Bonnie's paternal Great Grandmother, “Hannah Kent Schoff (née Hannah Kent), (1853-1940) is only one of many examples. She was an American welfare worker and reformer who was influential in state and national child welfare and juvenile criminal legislation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Hannah was elected vice president of the permanent National Congress of Mothers and in 1902 was elected president of the National Congress of Mothers. She established an endowment fund and a national headquarters in Washington, D.C., oversaw the multiplication of member state branches from 8 to 37 with a total of 190,000 members, and edited the organization’s journal “Child Welfare” (later National Parent-Teacher).

She organized several international conferences on child welfare sponsored by the U.S. State

Department and the Congress of Mothers. The National Congress of Mothers and Parent- Teacher Associations (later called the National Congress of Parents and Teachers and became a major force behind proposed legislation in the areas of child labor and education.

She studied the issue and drew up a series of bills for the Philadelphia legislature which was passed in 1901. The legislation established a distinct juvenile court system (the nation’s second, after Chicago’s), separate detention homes for children, and a system of probation officers. In its first eight years of operation she personally observed virtually every session of the Philadelphia juvenile court. She also assisted in the establishment of such courts in several other states and in Canada, where she was the first woman ever invited to address Parliament.

In 1909 she became chairman of the American Committee on the Causes of Crime in Normal Children, established under the aegis of the U.S. Bureau of Education.

Her detailed survey of juvenile crime led to the publication of “The Wayward Child “(1915). Mrs. Schoff was also interested in home education and was in large part responsible for the establishment of the Home Education Division within the U.S. Bureau of Education.”

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hannah-Kent-Schoff

It’s our family's hope and prayer that one day Bonnie’s adopted out son Fredric, his adopted family or his descendants will come across or be given this obituary information about his Birth Mother, Geraldine “Bonnie” West (née Boericke) Arnold Nelson Pearson Balcom Spurr. If this takes place we want him and them to know his step-Siblings, two Half-Aunts and Half- Uncle accept and love him. That his birth mother, Bonnie had wanted to find him and that some of our family has been actively searching for him for sixteen plus years.

Our family can be contacted by sending a message through Ancestry messages to “Eahlena” who created and manages the “Balcom – Boyer Family Tree” on the Ancestry website where Bonnie's family tree information that goes back over six generations can be viewed is included in our publicly viewable family tree at the following link:

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/2702093/person/-1818803387/facts

Bonnie's family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in the name of Geraldine “Bonnie” West Boericke Spurr to:

Evergreen Hospice Care

12822 124 th Lane

Kirkland, Washington 98034-3098