Yvonne "Bonnie" Patton

Yvonne “Bonnie” Patton, 93, of Sykesville, Maryland passed away peacefully on September 15th in her Winter Park, Florida home. 

 Bonnie was born on April 2, 1931 in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Baltimore School #49 for Gifted Students and was a graduate of Western High School and Bard Avon Secretarial College. She also attended the prestigious Peabody Conservatory where she majored in voice. 

 With her immense vocabulary, cordial demeanor and impressive typing skills, Bonnie excelled as a legal secretary. Her first (and only) job was at her father’s law firm. Here she met aspiring esquire David Patton, who she married in 1952. Soon thereafter, “Dave” joined the family firm and Bonnie worked happily by his side for over 40 years.

 Even after retirement, Bonnie and Dave worked as a team volunteering at the National Aquarium where Bonnie liked to inform crowds that the dolphins were actually beluga whales and that our national anthem was written across the harbor at Ft. McHenry. A second organization very dear to Bonnie was Messiah Lutheran Church where she sang in the choir and blessed many weddings with her “Ave Maria.” Her soprano voice had the power to touch your soul, and her somber rendition of “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” led many candlelit Good Friday processions out of the chapel.

 When not working or volunteering, Bonnie lived life to the fullest. She and Dave toured six of the seven continents and made friends around the world. Her address book was literally overflowing. And her calendar was so full of Jazzercise classes, choir practices, bowling leagues, manicures, outings with friends, Orioles baseball games and volunteer hours that she’d preface “Let me check my calendar” before she could confirm ANY activity.

 Bonnie liked to dress in high fashion, polish her silver… and entertain! Her signature burnt red hair was always styled and somehow matched her lipstick perfectly. Her two favorite holidays were Christmas and Easter. Extremely organized, Bonnie's Christmas gifts were bought and wrapped by Halloween and her holiday cookies arrived in November so that they could be enjoyed the entire season. Bonnie and Dave’s annual Easter extravaganza featured her special recipes, especially “Bonnie’s Bourbon Slush” and brought together her favorite people to socialize, solve riddles and compete for eggs full of money. Her nieces will always remember her artistic birthday cakes. Ranging from big Barbie dresses to a cheeseburger with sesame seeds, Bonnie’s cakes rivaled any baker at the time.

 A large supporter of the arts, Bonnie loved museums, theater, the opera and the symphony. She enjoyed Trivial Pursuit, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, NY Times Crosswords and any other game that could showcase her intellect. From childhood, she devoured novels and history books; her library was impressive and always on loan. Even approaching the age of 90, Bonnie was still reading Laura Lippman, Harry Potter, and the Chronicles of Narnia. Her guilty pleasure was People Magazine, which kept her abreast of her pop culture favorites such as The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars and Miss Piggy.

 In 2006 Bonnie suffered from a serious health condition. She headed to Florida to be with her niece who provided her the love and care she so greatly deserved. Although she was always a Baltimore girl, Florida became her second home. But for 18 years as a Florida resident, Bonnie hung the Maryland and Baltimore Orioles’ flags on her porch and remained unwavering in her support of the O’s. She told strangers that she would always consider herself a Marylander and spoke of Ocean City in the summer, giant blue crabs covered in Old Bay and jumbo lump crab cakes made with Phillip’s recipe. Crab was her absolute favorite. In fact, next to Tootsie Rolls, crab was the food she requested most from her caregivers.

 Bonnie was preceded in death by her parents, Stanley and Adaline Bossard; her husband, David Patton; her sister, Carole Belt; her Weimaraner, Mädchen and her alley cat, Five-o. She is survived by her deceased sister’s daughters, Larissa Serrao and Leesa Belt-Haglund, and her deceased husband’s 13 nieces and nephews.

 A celebration of life will be held at Newcomers Funeral Home, 3806 Howell Branch Road in Winter Park Florida on September 21st at 4:00pm. Bonnie will return to Maryland for a memorial service at Messiah Lutheran Church, 5600 Old Washington Road in Sykesville Maryland on September 26th at 11:00 am. Interment will follow at Blue Ridge Cemetery, 121 N. Altamont Avenue, Thurmont Maryland.