Lydia McManimon

HOFF FUNERAL SERVICE 507-864-7771 Lydia "Bonnie" M. McManimon, age 86, of Rushford, Minn., died peacefully with family by her side at Good Shepherd Lutheran Home on September 7, 2014. She was born the 6th of Frank and Pauline Bauer's 12 children on the family farm outside of Lima, WI on May 16th, 1928. After graduating from Mondovi High school, Lydia and her friend Ivy, in their Plymouth named "Carlotta", decided to travel. Her adventurous spirit took her to Colorado, California, Alaska, and, Milwaukee where she worked various bookkeeping and other administrative jobs. One of Lydia's many fascinating stories included a harrowing donkey ride to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It was in Milwaukee that she met Raymond McManimon. He introduced his "We Bonnie Lass" to the McManimon family and she has been known as "Bonnie" ever since. They were married on September 25th 1951. In 1959, they moved to the family farm on Oak Ridge in rural Rushford, MN where they raised their six children. Mom enjoyed her life on Oak Ridge where she was welcomed and supported by the many other McManimon families on neighboring farms and also the many other farm friends she had on the Ridge. Mom was the heart of the family home; an excellent cook, cake decorator, growing a large garden, and canning the fruits of her labor. She was the official corn cultivator on our farm, a 4H and Al-Anon leader, and a member of the ladies auxiliary fondly named "the coffee lady" at St. Mary's Catholic Church. She milked more cows than you can count and worked selflessly to provide a wonderful home for her family. She was a living example of what love is, always having an open door for family and friends with a great meal, a cup of coffee, and always a game of cards. Preceding her in death were her parents Frank and Pauline; husband, Ray; son David; brothers: Laverne (Gert), Hubert, Melvin, and Frank who died in infancy; sisters: Eleanor (Loren) Wright, Arlene (Jack) Weber; two sisters-in-law, Addy and Burnedette; and a brother-in-law, Ray Becker. She is survived by 5 children: Tim (Debbie), Tom (Cindy), Dan (Tony), Dennis and Colleen; 8 grandchildren: Janice, Melissa (Rocky) Burnett, Jason (Kristina), Aaron (Crystal), Matthew (Tanya), Amanda, Michael, and Andrew; 11 great grandchildren; 3 brothers: Lawrence, Eugene (Lorraine) and Merlin (Dorie); 2 sisters: Lorena Becker and Arvilla (Fred) Caturia; best friend and sister-in-law, Henrietta (Squirt) Bauer, and 3 other sisters-in-law: Virginia Dever, Orvilla Bloom and Carol Bauer and many nieces and nephews. The family would like to say a special thanks to the staff at Good Shepherd Lutheran Home for providing Mom with incredible, loving care for the last four years and to the staff at Heartland Hospice. Bonnie's family prefers memorials directed to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Home or the St. Mary's Cemetery. There will be a Funeral Mass for Bonnie at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 12, 2014, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Rushford with the Rev. Pratap Reddy officiating. Visitation will be from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. with a 7:00 p.m. prayer service on Thursday at Hoff Funeral Service in Rushford and one hour prior to the Funeral Mass on Friday at the church. Burial will be in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Houston, MN.Leave a memory of Bonnie, sign her online guestbook, and view her tribute video when it becomes available at www.hofffuneral.com
Tribute video can be found at: videos.lifetributes.com/522495