Mourning the Passing of Our Friend

 

Bonnie Deane Chown Smith

It is with a heavy heart that as a family we announce the passing of our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend…Bonnie Deane Chown Smith. At the same time, it is gratitude and peace that we feel, knowing that her suffering is over. 

Bonnie was born on November 15, 1947, in San Gabriel, California to Ruth Joanne Bradbury and Richard Tossell Chown Jr. Surrounded by family on March 16, 2026, Bonnie succumbed peacefully at home to a yearlong debilitating combination of liver cancer and dementia. True to form, she was a fighter to the end. 

Bonnie spent her early years living in several homes in the San Gabriel Valley. She liked to ride her bike, be outdoors, and play with her friends. A love for music started when she began playing the clarinet in the fourth grade. She was the oldest child in her family. By the time she was eleven, she had four siblings…a younger sister - Kathy, and three younger brothers - Bill, Rick, and Barry. It was at this time that a family decision was made to move to Fallbrook, California in north San Diego County. It was hoped that the more favorable climate would benefit her mother who suffered in the L.A. smog. It proved to be a blessing in many ways. 

She made many friends and had a wide variety of experiences caring for the two acre family avocado grove, swimming, riding horses, biking, marching band, dancing and more. Her dad was a California Highway Patrol (CHP) motorcycle officer, and she got a kick out of walking down the road from their home, meeting him as he was returning from work and getting a ride home behind him on his motorcycle. Her first real job was working both inside and as a carhop at her parent’s A&W drive-in. 

At the end of her junior year, her parents decided to move to Quincy in northern California, thinking her dad’s transfer there with the CHP would be a plus. They only stayed one year and returned to Fallbrook. Bonnie graduated from Quincy High School but regretted the rest of her life that she didn’t graduate from Fallbrook Union High School with her many friends there. She attended BYU for a year and a half, then moved to San Diego and completed schooling to be a Medical Assistant. She returned to Utah in the Spring of 1968 and secured employment in the office of an ophthalmologist. It was during this time that she met the love of her life, Dennis Smith of Payson, Utah. After only a summer courtship, they married in the Los Angeles Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on September 14, 1968. 

Bonnie worked to support them while Dennis finished his senior year at BYU. After his graduation, they moved to Alhambra, California for his new job. It was there, after only 11 months of marriage, that Bonnie attained the sacred blessing of becoming a mother - a role she cherished and magnified the rest of her life. 

That amazing child was a son, Karlin. Next came a beautiful daughter, Melinda. After three years in Alhambra, their little family moved to Fallbrook to be near Bonnie’s parents and siblings. Over the next few years, four more fantastic children joined the Smith family - Ryan, Nadeane, Eric, and Julia. When the youngest was just two years old, Dennis had a change in employment. Together they decided to open their own business - a private postal center in Fallbrook. To make ends meet as the business grew, Bonnie became a school bus driver and continued driving for the next 19 years, until all the kids had graduated from high school and left home. While in school, they all participated in different sports and other activities, and mom was their biggest fan. As Bonnie’s children gathered several hours before her passing and reminisced about their years in Fallbrook, they all enthusiastically agreed how amazing it was to grow up there, and how their mom had been so instrumental in their lives then, and continuing to her final day. Indeed, her family was her ultimate treasure in this life. 

In 2003 she said to Dennis, “Fallbrook is too big…we need to move.” They decided to move to Dennis’ hometown of Payson, Utah. She easily secured employment and continued as a school bus driver for the next 11 years, retiring in 2014. Many of her 30 years of driving were the routes for special needs children. She was blessed with an exceptional measure of patience and love that made serving all the children she transported a real joy in her life.

Over the years, Bonnie found time for activities such as knitting, gardening, reading, fishing, canning, and dehydrating fruits and vegetables, screen printing, and supporting grandkids in their school and sports activities. She especially enjoyed singing in ward and stake choirs, and spent many years with Choralais, a women’s chorale group in Payson. 

As a faithful, lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bonnie served in many callings in the Primary, Young Women, and Relief Society organizations. She also served 10 years in the San Diego Temple and several years in the Payson Temple. She and Dennis served as missionaries in the Utah Provo Mission. She loved her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with all her heart and exemplified that by the way she lived and loved and served throughout her life. 

Bonnie is survived by her husband, Dennis Smith; her six children Karlin (Trina) Smith, NV; Melinda (Chris) Olson, CO; Ryan (Joanna) Smith, CO; Nadeane (Scott) Paskett, UT; Eric (Sara) Smith, UT; and Julia Smith, UT; her siblings, Kathy (Glen) Geyer, AZ; Rick (Linda) Chown, OR; Barry (Tim) Chown, CA; and 20 grandchildren and five great-granddaughters, with a great-grandson on the way. 

Bonnie was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Bill. 

Our family extends our sincere thanks to Andrea, Cheyenne, and Alexa of Aspen Ridge Hospice for their very loving and tender care they gave to Bonnie. We are also grateful to Walker Funeral Home in Payson for their services.

All services to honor Bonnie will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 586 West 1750 South, Payson, Utah. There will be a visitation on Friday evening, March 27th, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Another visitation will be Saturday morning, March 28th, from 9:30am to 10:30am, followed by her funeral at 11:00am. Burial will follow at the Payson City Cemetery (400 North 800 East, Payson, Utah).