Bonnie Jo Leonhardt, 92, of North Platte, NE passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 11, 2023 at Linden Court.
Bonnie was born on June 6, 1931 in Elk City, OK the daughter of Joe W. and Myrtle (Eddins) Smith. She grew up in North Platte and graduated from North Platte High School with the class of 1949. She worked as a bookkeeper at McDonald State Bank from 1950 to 1959. She was married on January 30th, 1955 to Robert “Bob” A. Leonhardt and together they had three children. She was a full-time homemaker and helper to her husband, who was a farmer and rancher.
She was a member of First United Methodist Church, and the GO chapter of P.E.O. Her special interests included gardening, canning, freezing and spending time with family and friends. She enjoyed watching her grandchildren compete in sports and dance. Bonnie lived her entire life in the country attending rural schools and being involved in agriculture. She was a wonderful cook and no one went away from her house hungry.
Those left to cherish her memory are son, Jerry Leonhardt of Peoria, IL; daughters, Sandra Kilgore of Lincoln, and Kendra (Jeff) Driggs of North Platte; grandchildren, Quin (Jaime) Kilgore of Bellevue, Cole (Kacie) Kilgore of Gretna, and Alyssa Driggs and Chesney Tatman of Lincoln; great-granddaughter, Jorie Kilgore; brother, Bill Smith of North Platte; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband Bob; son-in-law Kirk, and brothers, Ray, LeRoy, Dayton, Scott Smith, and Ron Rains.
Graveside services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 23, 2023 at Fort McPherson National Veterans Cemetery near Maxwell with Micah Dunn of 1st UMC officiating. The memorial book will be available to sign from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 22nd at Carpenter Memorial Chapel, which has been entrusted with the arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family for future designation.