- Date Of Birth: January 3, 1920
- Date Of Death: December 3, 2017
- State: Montana
Bonnie Jean “Jean” LaDow died on Dec. 3, 2017, in Kalispell. She was 97 years old.
Born Bonnie Jean Burner in Sabetha, Kansas, on Jan. 3, 1920, she and her identical twin sister, Betty Jane, were the youngest children of Dr. Edwin Lee and Gladys Mae (Timberlake) Burner.
She attended Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas, where she joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
She loved word games, puzzles, bridge, biographies, golf, handcrafts – she made dozens of quilts and afghans over the years – and singing in the church choir. She often said, “Why not?!” and with a rare combination of keen discernment, humor, empathy, and an irrepressible wellspring of positive energy – “The Original Silver Lining Department,” as her son once called her – she inspired her three children, six grandchildren, extended family and friends.
She was predeceased by her husband Jess in 2014, her twin sister Jane (Burner) Weaver, her brother John Daniel Burner, and her sister Kathleen (Burner) Davis.
She leaves her daughter Janet LaDow Payne (J. Thomas Payne) of North Oaks, Minnesota; son David E.
The family is grateful for the loving care Jean received from the staff at Buffalo Hill Terrace in Kalispell, and for the association of many dear friends throughout her life in Kansas, Montana and Arizona.
