A Tribute to Her Memory

I sat down with Aunt “Bonnie” (Yvonne Lois Jean Borgmann), a couple of times, to capture facts and highlights in her life, just for this occasion, her death. Both times she struggled to remember dates, names, and even favorite things. She peacefully passed away January 3, 2026, in her apartment at Brookdale Springmeadows, Bozeman MT.

Bonnie amazed me with her natural health. Besides a couple scares around cancer, she would laugh with glee showing how she could keep up with me while we walked. She was almost 98 when she passed. Born March 23, 1928, to Leon and Judith Tank in Regent ND. Bonnie had 3 siblings: Doyne (Cecilia) Tank, Dennis (Charlene) Tank, Sheila (Kurt) Johnson. She was married and had four children (Janet (Keith) Hainline, Chris (Laura) Borgmann, Susan (Dan) Williams, and Rick (Sue) Borgmann).

She resided in Montana. One of my family favorites was picking cherries in their orchard at Flathead Lake. Although Bonnie tended to activities at home such as cooking and sewing, she worked many years for the Governor of MT in Payroll. She was socially active in the Ladies Auxiliary in Big Timber and Red Hat Society in Helena. She is preceded in death by her son (Rick Borgmann), her grandson (Rob Jr. Rogers), her brother (Doyne Tank), and her sister (Sheila Johnson).

She was a woman whose heart held a space for many. Bonnie absolutely loved to talk about coming to Montana and helping on the Hagbom Farm. She loved her memories with family and friends. If there were pictures to show she was sure to have you sit down and tell you all about them, even if you had seen them before. She had cherished each card and phone call received. Bonnie was a creature of habit and routine kept her motivated.

In her later years, Bonnie found a place in God’s path and spent several moments in the presence of help. Multiple times, she would tell me she felt so inadequate to pray or say something spiritual because she felt like a babe and not so polished. However, she never gave up, and she would spend heartfelt moments talking about stories from the Bible and the hope of a better tomorrow. Her relatives and friends stood by her side, offering love and support never went unappreciated by her. A special thanks to her grandson Bryce Rogers for his special bond with his grandma.

Let me end with a few lines from her favorite song—she always teared up when she heard it, saying, "Isn't this beautiful?".

May she rest in peace.

“Trees” by Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see

A poem as lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.