Bonnie Watlington Obituary

"On November 23, 2022, Bonnie Jean Nelson Watlington passed away peacefully following a stroke at the age of 81, surrounded by family and friends. Bonnie was born on February 2, 1941 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the third of five children of John Nelson and Margaret (Davidson) Nelson. She grew up on a farm, attending first a one-room schoolhouse and then Waukesha High School. Her upbringing in a big family led by adventurous and free-thinking parents made her fearless, funny and independent. She passed these traits on to her children; Sarah married a Navy man, David married a travel writer, and both are world travelers. Bonnie attended Denison University in Ohio where she met and later married David Jones. She followed David to Syracuse University where she finished her B. A. while David finished his law degree. They had daughter Sarah in 1962 and son David in 1964 and the family moved to Annapolis, Maryland. Bonnie and David divorced in 1970 yet remained close friends until the day of her passing. Bonnie lived in Annapolis for the majority of her life, but Wisconsin was always home. She and her family gathered almost every summer at the Nelson family cottage in Door County, Wisconsin. She married Tom Watlington in 1976, adding his children Tom, Bill, and Gale to the family. Bonnie and Tom played tennis weekly for years and took many opportunities to travel abroad. Bonnie was a social worker for Anne Arundel County in adoptions and custody investigations and changed many lives for the better. After 15 years she retired from social work intending to enter law school to be a family lawyer, but social work had become so emotionally exhausting that she instead turned to plants and devoted herself to her garden. She was a highly-educated and gifted gardener and lover of nature and bugs; she created beauty around her and often quoted William Morris: "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. " When she was 50 she joined the Annapolis Rowing Club and rowed for 13 years, winning many Masters races, including the Head of the Charles, and making great friends along the way. After retiring from rowing, she devoted herself to her garden, her friends, her children, and her grandchildren. In recent years, she developed dementia, and as a fiercely independent woman, she fought the loss of autonomy it cost her. She distanced herself from many friends and family because she could no longer be the "full Bonnie" and socialize or interact to her own impossible standards. To her last day, however, she loved and talked about her family and dear friends. Bonnie's husband,Tom, stepson Bill, sister Nancy and brother David preceded her in death. Surviving her are her daughter, Sarah Jones, Sarah's husband Tim Quast and their daughters Sophia, Helen, and Zoe Quast, all of San Diego; son David Jones and his wife Margaret Loftus of Charleston, son-by-choice Andrew Forsyth of Berkeley; former husband David Jones and his wife Andrea of New York City, beloved personal assistant Erica Reyes of New Carrolton, Maryland; stepson Tom Watlington, his wife Trish, their children Justin, wife Kelsey and their daughters Sterling and Esmae of San Diego; stepdaughter Sarah Watlington and niece Chloe Watlington, both of Los Angeles, stepdaughter Ellen Watlington and her wife Lena Peck, of Philadelphia; stepdaughter Gale Watlington and her partner Tom Ryan of Ramona, California; sister Penny Fille of Young Harris, Georgia, brother Richard Nelson of Oriental, North Carolina, as well as nieces, nephews, and many friends. In lieu of flowers, Bonnie would love donations to SPCA of Anne Arundel County (http://aacspca. org) or The Annapolis Symphony (annapolissymphony. org). If you wish, in the "name to acknowledge," you could write \u0026quot;In memory of Bonnie Watlington, longtime member who would still like printed programs. ""