Seemingly indefatigable, Bonnie McNally is a vivacious lady who does not like to be bored.
She attends every activity and then spends her ‘down time’ working diligently on word puzzles, or in the garden deadheading spent blossoms.
In her apartment, there is always a challenging jig-saw puzzle in progress.
A retired math teacher, Bonnie grew up in Arlington before moving to West Barnstable. She taught in the Braintree school system for 35 years, commuting daily from her home on the Cape.
Beloved by students and colleagues alike, Bonnie was feted to a gala retirement party to honor her distinguished career.
While she spent much of her newfound leisure time enjoying serene walks on the beach and collecting shells, Bonnie was also an avid kayaker.
“She’d just pick it up, put it on top of her car and she’d be off — kayaking all over the place,” her niece, Dawn Woodward, said.
Since Bonnie lost her only sibling, Sandi, in 2008, she has remained very close to Sandi’s two children – Dawn and Scott.
“She’s a very caring aunt,” Dawn said. “She did not have kids of her own, so we always meant a lot to her.”
A lifelong Red Sox fan, Bonnie brought Dawn and Scott to Sox games when they were children.
Scott still recalls his first visit to Fenway as “kind of a big moment for him,” Dawn said.
A savvy collector of antiques and collectibles, Bonnie was especially partial to the hauntingly lovely Byers Carolers figurines. [Every holiday season, Decatur House displays its own collection of Byers Salvation Army carolers.]
One of Bonnie’s favorite pastimes was visiting casinos – often with fellow teachers – where she played the “penny and quarter” slot machines for hours on end.
According to Dawn, Bonnie was such a “frequent flyer” to Foxwoods Casino that they sometimes gave her a complimentary room!
Bonnie may have felt at home inside a casino, but not so much in her own kitchen.
“The only thing she cooked was fudge!” Dawn said.
Indeed, Bonnie is a hopeless chocoholic.
Dawn recalled a Caribbean cruise with her aunt, for whom the ship’s “Midnight Chocolate Buffet” was arguably the high point.
Even today, when Dawn concludes a visit with Bonnie she always asks, “Do you need anything, Aunt Bon?”
Bonnie quickly replies, “A bag of M & M’s, of course!”
