Yvonne "Bonnie" Louise Blackburn

Yvonne Louise "Bonnie" Blackburn April 22, 1937 - August 12, 2021 Cashmere, Washington Yvonne L. "Bonnie" Blackburn, 84, of Cashmere, a longtime Wenatchee Valley resident, passed away at her home on August 12, 2021. Bonnie was born on April 22, 1937, in Wenatchee to the late Ralph Greenwood, an orchardist orphaned early in his life by the 1918 flu epidemic in Mansfield, and Erma (Woods) Greenwood, ninth of eleven children born to a musical preacher/farmer homesteading near Loomis. Bonnie was raised on a cherry orchard on Western Avenue the oldest of four siblings, Jerry, Bill and Rita. She enjoyed her happy childhood playing in the neighborhood with friends, especially the late Jolene Owen, of which she lived near her whole life, and Jack Durrett, another of her beloved neighbors, who all joined their new heavenly neighborhood in the past year. Bonnie lost her mother to cancer at 12 years old. That night she asked God to show her an angel, and a large white angel appeared at the foot of her bed. The God she met at church was real. Bonnie's father raised them faithfully, keeping them together, even with a one-year-old baby sister to take care of and often eating the same thing for dinner nearly every night. She loved music, like her mother and all her relatives, and learned to play the piano and sing harmony. She liked to sight read 1940's sheet music and to read. Bonnie grew up listening to Roy Rogers and later dated a cowboy from Montana at Wenatchee High School, to whom she was married for 64 years. She received her schooling in Wenatchee, graduating from Wenatchee High School with the class of 1955. Until recently, she still met with the girls in her class. She continued her education at Wenatchee Valley Community College in the secretarial program. During that time, she was the Wenatchee College Homecoming Queen and rode floats in the Apple Blossom and Sea Fair parades. Later she worked as a secretary at Laverne College in California and at Wells and Wade Hardware in Wenatchee, as well as in the Chelan County Assessor's Office as a clerk. Bonnie met James "Jim" Blackburn while in high school. After he attended college and spent a year in the Navy, they decided to marry. He had to be released early from the base infirmary with the flu and barely made it to their wedding at her family church, the Wenatchee Valley Church of the Brethren, on July 2, 1957. The church janitor had had to stand in for him during the rehearsal the night before! Bonnie moved with her husband's military duties to Imperial Beach, California where she gave birth to two daughters, Denise and Kelly, while he was out on eight-month cruises. Upon receiving his discharge in 1960, they moved to Bozeman, Montana while Jim completed his college degree. She worked as a secretary there, as well as at Security Bank but preferred staying home with the children in college housing. The family moved to Cashmere during the summer of 1966 and have since continued to make their home in Cashmere, welcoming a son, Jeff, in 1968. Bonnie enjoyed raising her family and homemaking, including baking. In 1982, She won the Apple Pie Contest for the Best Apple Pie at the Cashmere's Apple Days festival. She excelled in sewing and cooking, although as a young wife and mother, she had to learn cooking solely from Betty Crocker. The family attended Cashmere United Presbyterian Church at the end of the next block, and she was on the committee that selected Reverend John Rogers as the new pastor. They enjoyed many friends there for many years. She was filled with the Holy Spirit in 1971 during the Jesus People movement, becoming convinced of God's love and power and was excited to share this with others. Soon her whole family was saved and filled. She attended many prayer meetings, initiated an evangelism class in her home for neighborhood children and helped with many programs at the church including vacation bible school. Bonnie learned to play the autoharp so she could lead singing without a piano. Bonnie was also very involved with Women's Aglow International in Wenatchee for many years as an officer and worship leader as well as worked as a chaplain's assistant at the hospital in Wenatchee praying for patients. Bonnie was an intercessory "prayer warrior", a main focus in her life. She was active in praying at the Healing Rooms in Wenatchee, then interceded weekly with some of her like-minded friends. She also worked at the Christian book store in Cashmere. More recently, she attended Wenatchee Foothills Foursquare and River of Life Foursquare Churches in Wenatchee, and visited Wenatchee First Assembly of God. She also enjoyed to travel; Bonnie and Jim enjoyed their extensive travel experiences back to Montana. She loved hosting family gatherings, large Hershey's bars with almonds, and going out to lunch with her two best friends Jolene Wyles and Linda Cox. Most of all, she loved Jesus and all her family. She was a welcoming, caring and loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend, always with time to listen and willingness to pray, and with an easy laugh and smile. Bonnie is survived by her husband: Jim Blackburn; three children: Denise (David) Langlois, Kelly (Erin) Leggett, Jeffrey Blackburn; her sister: Rita Baugh; six grandchildren: Chelsea Leggett, Jenna Leggett, David Langlois, Bryce Leggett, Josiah Langlois, Judah Leggett; and five great-grandchildren: Liliyah Olson, Catherine Langlois, Stephen Leggett, Ezera Langlois, and Adaline Langlois. She is preceded in death by her parents: Ralph and Erma Greenwood, and two brothers, Jerry and William "Bill" Greenwood. A family graveside service was held on August 27, 2021 at 10:00 am at Cashmere Cemetery. A Memorial Celebration of Life will be held on October 9, 2021 at 1:00 pm at the Foothills Foursquare Church, 315 S. Mission St. in Wenatchee. A dessert reception will follow in the church fellowship hall. Arrangements are in the care of Heritage Memorial Chapel, East Wenatchee and Cashmere.