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Bonnie Carolyn (Bradshaw) Gunter-Allen "Bon"
From Then To Now Bonnie Bradshaw I can't believe it has been 48 years since graduating from high school. My memories are warped in time which gives me a sudden shock every time I see an old classmate after many years. I expect them to look as they did the last time I saw them. I'm still getting use to the old woman in the mirror who claims to be me. Most everyone knows I and my 2 older brothers grew up in a Funeral Home and my daddy was "Digger O'Dell, the friendly Undertaker." Actually his name was Tom Bradshaw. By today's standards my family was poor but we didn't know it. I seemed to have everything I needed and most things I wanted. The Funeral Home was a fun place to live, regardless of what you may think. Our living quarters were very large and nice and separate from the Funeral Home but close enough to always be in on what was happening. Most families only had one car if they were lucky enough to have a car. Friday and Saturday nights the kids old enough to drive got the family car but that took some planning ahead because there was usually more than 1 kid in the family old enough to drive and heaven forbid that they would go out together. So, the crowds that ran together made plans ahead of time who would supply the transportation. During my school years life was easy and I was just foolish enough to think it would always be that way. I had a lot to learn the hard way. I attended Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) after graduation . I married my first "steady" Bob Gunter from Campbell, Missouri. We have three children Michelle, Rob, and Lori. Bob was an attorney in Little Rock, Arkansas when he died from complications of diabetes in 1989, he had just turned 49 years old. I remarried in 1992 to Tom Allen of Little Rock, Arkansas where we reside today. Tom has five children and with my three we are the reruns of "Eight is Enough." Since I have no grandchildren, Tom has been gracious enough to share his seven with me, which, of course, are the most beautiful and intelligent grandchildren in the world. I am retired after 30 plus years in real-estate and finances and Tom is retired after 50 years in sales. Tom and I love to travel and have made several trips abroad. Two of our most interesting trips were to Cuba and Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, (now Slovakia.) We, "my children and their spouses," take at least one vacation together each year. We have watched my daughter Lori run-ha! "walk and almost crawl" the 26 mile marathon in London, England-she finished-yeah! We’ve cruised the Caribbean for Christmas 2004 and enjoyed Christmas 2003 week in New Orleans seeing the "Bonfires on the Levy" and midnight mass at St. Louis Cathedral (before Katrina). In July 2006 it was an Alaskan Cruise starting with a visit to Seattle, WA. This June (2007) Tom and I visited Haiti while on a cruise. Besides being critically ill and hospitalized in ICU the day after returning home, we thought Haiti was an interesting place. They have beautiful crafts at unbelievable prices. My favorite hobby is having fun with my family. Bonnie's Photo Album
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