Monday, August 20, 2007

Bonnie Grant (nee Baird)
1948 - 2007

Bonnie Grant of Calgary passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 19, 2007 surrounded by her family. She looked rather old for her age which was likely on the account of being a leap year baby. Technically, Bonnie only had 14 actual birthdays and would have had her fifteenth on Feb 29, 2008. Only having 14 birthdays was such a blessing as it bode well for the “Grant gene”, only had to buy her 14 birthday presents! Bonnie was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. She was the second oldest in a family of three sisters and a brother. Her parents, John “Johnny” and Dorothy Baird had a handful with these kids except for Bonnie, who was arguably always an angel. Bonnie married Wayne on June 9th, 1967 and was able to escape Edmonton, and “all of that family” as Wayne would put it, shortly after. Bonnie and Wayne settled in Calgary and managed to raise two amazing kids, Shelley and Pat, despite living in what was called “the hood”. Bonnie began a career at Northern Telecom in 1976 and worked there for 24 years before retiring. It was common to hear from the people that worked for her that “Bonnie was the best manager I ever had”. She was clearly a people person and would always take the time to talk no matter how small the issue.

Bonnie and Wayne retired out to “the cabin” on the Shuswap Lake in the community of Seymour Arm where they cultured a whole new family of friends. The cabin is a very special place for the Grant and the Morris family (Terry, Marylynn, Shannon and Sean) where lots of great memories were made. Stories will be passed on about Bonnie around the fire for many generations to come. She loved her gardening, reading, crafts and of course her bird watching (“crazy bird lady”). In their retirement, Wayne and Bonnie enjoyed traveling to tropical locations to relax and enjoy the many cultures of the world, code word for consuming lots of fruity drinks and relaxing on the beach.


Bonnie brought out the best in everyone she touched. She will be missed and never forgotten as her qualities have been passed to her children and everyone of her grandchildren. Bonnie was predeceased by her father, John Baird whose Irish blue eyes and sense of humor have also been passed down through the family and is always in our hearts and minds. She was also predeceased by her father-in-law, Bob Grant and her brother-in-law, Randy Grant. She is survived by her mother, Dorothy Baird and mother-in-law, Edna Grant (we love you GGB and GGG!); husband of 40 years, Wayne (wow, I bet that was a lot of “Waynnneeee’s”); her daughter and son-in-law, Shelley and Mark Baxter and her grandchildren, Carmen and Stephen; her son and daughter-in-law, Patrick and Mary Grant and her grandchildren, Robyn and Willem; her sister and sister’s husband, Marylynn and Terry Morris; her sister and sister’s husband, Joanne and Grant McMillan, her brother and brother’s wife, Bill and Kelly Baird; her sister Vicki Baird; brother-in-laws, Tim (Carol), Mike (Colette), and Val and many extended relatives and close friends she made throughout her life.

Special thanks for all the help and support from the staff at Unit 47 at the Tom Baker Cancer Center and our home nurse, Carol Boyer. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 1:00pm at the Crescent Heights Community Center, 1101 - 2 Street NW, Calgary, Alberta. A website has been set up for people to send condolences, tell stories, or to view some information about Bonnie (www.bonniegrant.blogspot.com) In lieu of flowers, feel free to make donations to the Alberta Cancer Foundation. c/o Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

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