Bonnie Park Atkinson, age 90, died suddenly but peacefully December 19, 2015 at the Homestead Assisted Living Center in St. Anthony.

She was born April 10, 1925, to George Leslie and Florence Luella Wilding Park in a small house on her grandfather's farm just north of the Teton River in Rexburg, the location of the current Wal-Mart.

A short time after her birth, her grandmother Wilding passed away and her mother and father began to help take care of Bonnie's many young aunts and uncles. This caused the family to move to the Medicine Lodge area where Bonnie began school. She had many happy memories of living at Medicine Lodge where she developed lifelong relationships with her aunts and uncles, several of whom were just a few years older than she.

The family also lived a short time in Idaho Falls, but most of her growing up years were spent in Rexburg. Bonnie graduated from Madison High School in 1943. She went to Ricks College where she studied business and secretarial skills and served for a short time as secretary to college president John L. Clarke. She was also employed by the public assistance office and the Federal Land Bank in Rexburg.

Her father purchased a farm in Lyman where she met handsome, young Max Atkinson who had just returned from the Second World War. His family lived just across the road. They married on September 4, 1947, in the Idaho Falls LDS temple.

They farmed for a few years at Lyman and then on the Minidoka project near Burley. In 1960 they purchased a farm just south of St. Anthony where they raised their family. They also lived in Provo, Utah, for a year and a half while Max earned an advanced degree at BYU before returning to St. Anthony. He taught history for many years at Ricks College.

She was a homemaker but helped contribute to the family's income, especially when her children needed funds for missions and college, by working for the Ricks College accounting office and later as one of the first employees of the institution which would evolve into Beehive Credit Union.

She was an active member of the LDS Church serving in many positions including Relief Society president and a member of Primary and Young Women's presidencies. She and her husband served a mission to Nauvoo Illinois, and they officiated for many years in the Idaho Falls Temple.

She was active in the faculty wives' association at Ricks College.

She is survived by her children: Nikki (John) Voelkel of Lakeview OR, Jill, (Wayne) Downs of Cedar Hills UT, and David (Cody) Atkinson and Kim(Darius) Abegglen both of St. Anthony. She is also survived by 21 grandchildren and 45 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her brother, one son and three grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, December 23, 2015 at 11:00 a.m., in the Twin Groves 2nd Ward Chapel at 145 East 1st North in St. Anthony. The family will receive friends at the Bert Flamm Mortuary from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday evening and 10:00-10:45 a.m. Wednesday prior to the service at the church. Burial will be at the Sutton Cemetery.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to her second family, the staff and residents at the Homestead in St. Anthony. Their kind attention and loving concern made the months before her death happy ones.