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Bonita Mary "Bonnie" (Gehlhausen) Emmert, age 94
Bonita Mary "Bonnie" (Gehlhausen) Emmert, age 94, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at 9:45 a.m. ET Saturday, February 22, in her Ferdinand home, two blocks from the home where she was born.
Born on August 24, 1930, Bonnie was the youngest of ten children of Catherine (Zeller) and Richard Gehlhausen. She graduated from Academy Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand. She and her future husband, Robert "Bob" Emmert from Haubstadt, Indiana, were introduced to each other at the Ferdinand monastery by their matchmaker siblings and close friends Sister Sylvia Gehlhausen, OSB, and Sister Emily Emmert, OSB.
Bonnie married Bob on Thursday, February 28, 1957, at the Chapel of Our Sorrowful Mother in Ferdinand. They chose the chapel because her father Richard had a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother and took his children to pray many rosaries there.
Four children, all surviving and living in Ferdinand, were born from their union: Robert "Robin" (Michelle Becker), Rock (Kris Lasher), Trina (Chris James), and Marya (Kurt Wilmes). Her husband Bob also survives.
The beloved matriarch of her close-knit family, Bonnie grew up a tomboy and free spirit. A child of the Great Depression, she often said, "We had everything we needed"—including a milk cow named Babe that she cared for and chickens at their home at 8th and Delaware.
As a young girl, she traveled by train with her parents to visit her brother Mel in Massachusetts after World War II landed several of her brothers across the country. As a young woman, to care for sick relatives, she took the train from the Bretzville station to Louisville.
Through the years, she humbly accepted the role of caregiver for her aging parents and exemplified the importance of helping others in need—qualities she helped to instill in her family.
An avid gardener and homemaker, she enjoyed sharing her abundant produce, canned foods, and creations with family, friends, and neighbors. On Sundays, she loved making fried chicken meals for roadside picnics, and she prepared feasts for Thanksgiving and other holidays. She had a great love for all animals. Her goats and chickens provided milk and eggs for her family. She also raised and sold chihuahua puppies for decades. Only her senior dog Sunshine remains.
She wholeheartedly shared Bob's love of Forest Park girls and boys basketball, baseball, and the Chicago Cubs. They have enjoyed attending area church picnics to play bingo and bring home gallons of turtle soup.
Bonnie was employed prior to her marriage at the Glove Factory in Jasper, the Farm Bureau Co-op office in Huntingburg, and the General Electric Company, also in Huntingburg. She later did sales work for Rawleigh and Fuller Brush and for 20 years cleaned the Ferdinand Holland Branch Bank.
In the 1970s, she co-founded the Dubois County Right to Life. Over the years she actively participated in and supported numerous classes and programs involving art, cooking, music, nature, and wellness.
Bonnie and Bob have seven grandchildren, Kaitlin (Charles Klein), Marissa, and Blake, children of Robin and Michelle; Trevor and Tristan, children of Trina and Chris; Andrew and Adam, children of Marya and Kurt; and six great-grandchildren, Leo, Lily, Cecilia, Margo, Emmett, and Casper.
She was preceded in death by her parents and nine siblings; her sister Sylvia, OSB (Leona, twin to Leander); her sister and brother-in-law, Bernice and Hilbert Fischer; her sister and brother-in-law, Virginia and Louis Harter; her brother Gerald (age 4); her brother and sister-in-law, Leander and Juanita (Baker); her brother and sister-in-law, Melvin and Flora (Paleschi); her brother and sister-in-law, Merrill and Lucille (Stetter); her brother Herman (twin to Sherman) and sister-in-law, Doloras (Bich); and her brother and sister-in-law, Sherman and Elizabeth (Friebert).
Bonnie is the last of her nine siblings and their spouses to pass away, and Bob is the last survivor of his nine siblings and their spouses.
The family is grateful for the many years Bonnie blessed them with her love and kindness. A beautiful soul beloved and remembered by those who knew her, she will be deeply missed.
A Mass of Christian Burial for Bonnie Emmert will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, February 27, at St. Ferdinand Catholic Church, with burial following in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be held at the church from 9 a.m. until the 11 a.m. service on Thursday.
Donations may be made to the Trotter House — Lifeline Family Center, 671 3rd Avenue, Suite F, Jasper, Indiana 47546 For info, call 812-683-2111.
Online condolences may be shared at www.becherfuneralhome.com.
Born on August 24, 1930, Bonnie was the youngest of ten children of Catherine (Zeller) and Richard Gehlhausen. She graduated from Academy Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand. She and her future husband, Robert "Bob" Emmert from Haubstadt, Indiana, were introduced to each other at the Ferdinand monastery by their matchmaker siblings and close friends Sister Sylvia Gehlhausen, OSB, and Sister Emily Emmert, OSB.
Bonnie married Bob on Thursday, February 28, 1957, at the Chapel of Our Sorrowful Mother in Ferdinand. They chose the chapel because her father Richard had a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother and took his children to pray many rosaries there.
Four children, all surviving and living in Ferdinand, were born from their union: Robert "Robin" (Michelle Becker), Rock (Kris Lasher), Trina (Chris James), and Marya (Kurt Wilmes). Her husband Bob also survives.
The beloved matriarch of her close-knit family, Bonnie grew up a tomboy and free spirit. A child of the Great Depression, she often said, "We had everything we needed"—including a milk cow named Babe that she cared for and chickens at their home at 8th and Delaware.
As a young girl, she traveled by train with her parents to visit her brother Mel in Massachusetts after World War II landed several of her brothers across the country. As a young woman, to care for sick relatives, she took the train from the Bretzville station to Louisville.
Through the years, she humbly accepted the role of caregiver for her aging parents and exemplified the importance of helping others in need—qualities she helped to instill in her family.
An avid gardener and homemaker, she enjoyed sharing her abundant produce, canned foods, and creations with family, friends, and neighbors. On Sundays, she loved making fried chicken meals for roadside picnics, and she prepared feasts for Thanksgiving and other holidays. She had a great love for all animals. Her goats and chickens provided milk and eggs for her family. She also raised and sold chihuahua puppies for decades. Only her senior dog Sunshine remains.
She wholeheartedly shared Bob's love of Forest Park girls and boys basketball, baseball, and the Chicago Cubs. They have enjoyed attending area church picnics to play bingo and bring home gallons of turtle soup.
Bonnie was employed prior to her marriage at the Glove Factory in Jasper, the Farm Bureau Co-op office in Huntingburg, and the General Electric Company, also in Huntingburg. She later did sales work for Rawleigh and Fuller Brush and for 20 years cleaned the Ferdinand Holland Branch Bank.
In the 1970s, she co-founded the Dubois County Right to Life. Over the years she actively participated in and supported numerous classes and programs involving art, cooking, music, nature, and wellness.
Bonnie and Bob have seven grandchildren, Kaitlin (Charles Klein), Marissa, and Blake, children of Robin and Michelle; Trevor and Tristan, children of Trina and Chris; Andrew and Adam, children of Marya and Kurt; and six great-grandchildren, Leo, Lily, Cecilia, Margo, Emmett, and Casper.
She was preceded in death by her parents and nine siblings; her sister Sylvia, OSB (Leona, twin to Leander); her sister and brother-in-law, Bernice and Hilbert Fischer; her sister and brother-in-law, Virginia and Louis Harter; her brother Gerald (age 4); her brother and sister-in-law, Leander and Juanita (Baker); her brother and sister-in-law, Melvin and Flora (Paleschi); her brother and sister-in-law, Merrill and Lucille (Stetter); her brother Herman (twin to Sherman) and sister-in-law, Doloras (Bich); and her brother and sister-in-law, Sherman and Elizabeth (Friebert).
Bonnie is the last of her nine siblings and their spouses to pass away, and Bob is the last survivor of his nine siblings and their spouses.
The family is grateful for the many years Bonnie blessed them with her love and kindness. A beautiful soul beloved and remembered by those who knew her, she will be deeply missed.
A Mass of Christian Burial for Bonnie Emmert will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, February 27, at St. Ferdinand Catholic Church, with burial following in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be held at the church from 9 a.m. until the 11 a.m. service on Thursday.
Donations may be made to the Trotter House — Lifeline Family Center, 671 3rd Avenue, Suite F, Jasper, Indiana 47546 For info, call 812-683-2111.
Online condolences may be shared at www.becherfuneralhome.com.