Bonnie M. Fish

With deep sorrow, the daughters of Bonnie May Fish announce that she passed away on Friday, April 10, 2026. The second child of Beulah May (Ellis) and Fred Sherman Greenlee, Bonnie was born on February 1, 1938, in the “old Red Keller house” in Hockerville, Oklahoma. Bonnie grew up in Quapaw, Oklahoma and Oswego, Kansas. It was in Oswego that she met Cecil Fish, who proposed to her on their first date. They were married on May 3, 1957, in the Mound Valley, Kansas, Christian Church. Their first home was in Wichita, Kansas, where they welcomed all three of their children: Kelly in 1958, Joni in 1959, and Dixie in 1962. Cecil worked for AT& T and in 1963, they were transferred to Pleasanton, Kansas, and subsequently lived in Overland Park, Hiawatha, and Olathe, Kansas. During these years, Bonnie managed the home and was variously employed as a dental assistant, a care home activities director, and a special education paraprofessional. In 1984, Bonnie and Cecil retired to southeast Kansas building homes first near Big Hill Lake and later in Altamont. Bonnie worked to support Cecil’s retirement vocation as a county and then city commissioner for the next 13 years. In 2006, to be closer to family, Bonnie and Cecil moved to Baldwin City and then to Ottawa, Kansas.

Throughout her life, Bonnie was known for her loving sense of humor and infectious laugh. She was a seamstress who enjoyed fashion and until recently, she still sewed for the girls. When the girls were growing up, the Fish house was the place to be and other parents would often call her for advice. She was passionately involved in the lives of her grandchildren and worked with children through the various churches she and Cecil attended. After the grandchildren were grown, she really enjoyed being a dogsitter for her grand dogs. And, she was deathly afraid of snakes.

Bonnie is survived by her daughters, Kelly Fish-Greenlee (Jim Richardson), Joni Fish-Gertz (Bruce Fish-Gertz), and Dixie Fish-Richard (Gerald Richard); four grandchildren, Katie Stewart (Scott Murphy), Leland Stewart, Micah Fish-Gertz (Lindsey Walaski), and Jonah Fish-Gertz (Marissa Soisson); and six great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Cecil Fish; her half-brother, Howard Dale Greenlee; her sister, Lila Tinney; and brothers, Patrick, Ernie, and Gerald Greenlee.

Friends and family are welcome to attend the graveside service to be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Mound Valley Cemetery in Mound Valley, Kansas. The sisters welcome all to a Celebration of Life service at 3:00 p.m., Saturday, at 2729 Greenwood Drive, Ottawa, Kansas.

Memorials are suggested to Ives Chapel in Baldwin City or to Prairie Paws Animal Shelter in Ottawa. These may be left at or mailed to Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home, P.O. Box 374, Parsons, KS 67357.