Bonita "Bonnie" Louise Wasli

Bonita “Bonnie” Louise Wasli, 62, of Glenwood Springs passed away on May 30th after a five year struggle with cancer. Bonnie grew up in Beaverton, Oregon as the middle child in a loving family. She was surrounded by grandparents on both sides and enjoyed hiking, camping, and playing at the beach with her siblings. She attended Walla Walla College in Washington State from 1979 to 1984 and graduated with a BS in Accounting. While at college she was introduced to Kevin Wasli through mutual friends, and their first date found Bonnie on the back of a dirt bike. They were engaged in August of 1983 and married in 1984 in Beaverton Oregon. They moved to Denver Colorado right after getting married to start their life together, careers and a lifetime of outdoor adventures. Colorado years on the Front Range included backpacking, climbing fourteeners, mountain biking, and skiing trips. Bonnie was a very active member with Alpine Rescue Team based in Evergreen. Later, on the Western Slope, Bonnie joined Garfield County Search and Rescue. Through outdoor activities and the rescue teams, Bonnie and Kevin forged many lifelong friendships. After ten years in Colorado, they sought out a new adventure which landed them with the Peace Corp and served in Ecuador for two years. When they returned from Ecuador, Bonnie and Kevin found themselves blessed with a child and had to scramble to adjust to life back in the USA. Bonnie gave birth to Kaitlyn in August of 1996. After a couple of years, they moved to Glenwood Springs which became their home – a place where Bonnie was deeply connected to her church family, colleagues, and to many in the community. Bonnie’s career was in hospital finance at several institutions where she held positions from Accountant to CFO. On the Front Range she worked at Porter, Boulder, and Avista Adventist Hospitals. On the Western Slope she worked at Mind Springs Health and Valley View Hospital. Bonnie invested herself completely in her work endeavors from local to State projects. Colleagues have mentioned how Bonnie brought integrity, strong leadership, and expertise to her projects as well as thoughtfulness and respect to co-worker interactions. Alongside her career, Bonnie cherished spending time with her family at church, school, and in the great outdoors. She loved food and enjoyed preparing it at home, for backcountry adventures, and church. Bonnie dearly loved motherhood and creatively looked for ways to make activities fun as well as to establish lifelong traditions and lasting memories for her daughter. Both Bonnie and Kevin had periods where they were stay-at-home parents, and they treasured this time. Throughout her life, Bonnie was a member of the Christian church. Genuinely living Christian beliefs was important to her and Kevin as well as imparting that to their daughter through Christian education. Bonnie will be remembered as a strong, kind, fun-loving, beautiful soul who positively impacted the lives of others. She was genuinely loved by many and regarded as a wonderful friend. She will be deeply missed. Bonnie is predeceased by her mother, Lou Ann Cook; brother, David Cook; and in-laws, Arne and Evelyn Wasli. Bonnie is survived by her small but cherished family: husband of 38 years, Kevin Wasli; daughter, Kait Wasli; father, Bob Cook; and sister, Donna Cook. A Celebration of Life will be held on July 22 at 2:00 pm at The Orchard Church located at: 110 Snowmass Drive, Carbondale, CO 81623. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to benefit the Calaway Young Cancer Center may be sent to the Valley View Foundation at P.O. Box 1970 Glenwood Springs, CO 81602 or vvh.org -> Giving -> Donate.