Obituary of Barbara Wilkins Bonner

Obituary for Barbara W. Bonner

Beloved wife, mother, and Grandmother Barbara Wilkins Bonner, aged 82 passed away peacefully on June 22, 2023, surrounded by her family in Leesburg, VA

Barbara Ann Wilkins was born in Quicksburg, VA to Gilbert and Mabel Lowry Wilkins on May 28, 1941.  She and her sister Mary lost their mother at an early age to cancer and their father Gilbert Wilkins re-married to Zelma Trivet who had a daughter Phyllis by her first husband that had died in WWII.  Gilbert and Zelma Wilkins went on to give the three girls a little brother, Ed Wilkins.  They grew up in Annandale and went to Annandale High School where Barbara met her future husband, Kenneth Lee Bonner.  While Kenneth was in college studying Architecture at the University of Virginia, she and Ken were married on August 28^th, 1960.

Professionally, Barbara worked in a variety of membership development and management positions at WETA Public Television and the Construction Specifications Institute, among other industry association work.

Ken and Barbara had two children, Kenneth Jr., and Lisa, while Kenneth completed his degree in architecture.  They briefly moved back to Annandale when their children were small, then moved to the planned community of Reston in the mid-1960s where Kenneth practiced architecture.  Barbara’s family were some of the original residents of Reston and Barbara was a resident of Reston for over 50 years.  She was active in her community and was known for her love of cooking, entertaining, her warm smile and kind heart.  She was always quick to smile and loved meeting people and making friends.

She had a deep belief in our democracy and was active in her community and in local politics, at times volunteering on campaigns and at other times serving as a polling station administrator.  She was a long-standing member of United Christian Parish in Reston, VA.  Over the years, she volunteered at the church in a variety of positions including teaching Sunday school.  She instilled in her children the importance of being active in your community and community service, helping at the local Friendly Instant Sympathetic Help (FISH) food pantry, her church, local politics, and many other organizations.

Barbara was known for her love of gourmet cooking and to her, love was always expressed with food.  She was a fan of Julia Child’s cooking show and was always wanting to try new recipes.  If you were one of her neighbors, you most likely were the recipient of one of her Christmas morning pastries which she enjoyed presenting warm and fresh from the oven to all her neighbors.  Or if you had a special occasion, she would have a dinner party for you.  When her kids went to prom, she would invite her kid’s friends to a 2 am after-prom brunch of Quiche Lorraine and homemade onion bread.  She loved to celebrate births, marriages, graduations, holidays, and any other occasion with a dinner party. Her kitchen was for many years a warm and bustling place of wonderful smells.  To her, food was the language of love and she loved to shower her friends and family with her delicious food.

She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Kenneth L. Bonner, her children Kenneth L. Bonner Jr., and Lisa Bonner Hanusiak, her sister Phyllis Hughitt, her sister-in-law Darlene Wilkins, brother & sister-in-law Paul and Janet Bonner, her grandchildren Lauren Aspromonti, Lacey Bonner, Michael Hanusiak and Barbara Hanusiak and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.  She is predeceased by her parents Zelma and Gilbert Wilkins, mother and father in-law Frank and Stella Bonner, brother Ed Wilkins, sister Mary Wilkins, brother-in-law Jerry Hughitt and son-in-law William Hanusiak.

The visitation will be at Adams-Green Funeral Home at 721 Elden Street, Herndon, VA at 6-8 pm on Wednesday June 28^th, 2023.