*This obituary was revised March 9, 2022, to update the mailing address for sending memorial contributions. Please note the updated address. — Editors
TOPEKA — Bonnie J. Greenwood, Overbrook, passed away peacefully Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, at Presbyterian Manor, Topeka. She was 87.
She was born Oct. 31, 1934, on the Gribben family farm, northwest of Leoti, the daughter of Arthur Louis Gribben Sr. and Genevieve Eulala (Manning) Gribben. She grew up in the Sunnyside community of rural Wichita County, and graduated from Wichita County High School, Leoti, with the Class of 1952. She then went on to attend Marymount College, Salina.
While working in a Salina gift shop during college, Bonnie met Floyd Greenwood, a sharp-looking guy just home from the service. On Oct. 11, 1954, they were united in marriage at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Marienthal. Bonnie and Floyd were married 63 years at the time of Floyd’s death in March 2018.
After their marriage, Bonnie and Floyd made their home in several communities, from Carlton and Salina, to Dallas, Texas, to Norton, primarily in support of Floyd’s career as a funeral director. In 1967, the couple moved to Waverly, where they managed the Jones Funeral Home until March 1971, when they purchased the Greenwood-Roberts Funeral Home in Overbrook. Bonnie attained her Assistant Funeral Director’s license in 1972, and she and Floyd ran the funeral home in Overbrook for almost 40 years, until their retirement in 2010. During those years, they also assisted Lamb-Roberts Funeral Homes in Ottawa and Baldwin City. They took great pride in their professional work and serving the local community.
Bonnie was a former member of the Extension Homemakers Unit (EHU), Overbrook. She genuinely cared about people, and she always sought to learn about any new acquaintance and their family. She was blessed with a generous spirit, an abundance of the “gift of gab,” a spunky sense of humor and a big sweet tooth. She was fondly referred to as the “Candy Lady” by relatives and the neighborhood children with whom she would share giant candy bars and sacks of sweets. She was passionate about decorating her home for any and every holiday, and she continued this tradition at her apartment at Presbyterian Manor. She was a loyal KU Jayhawks fan. Bonnie was truly “one of a kind,” and a fixture in the Overbrook community for over 47 years.
A few months after Floyd’s death, in July 2018, Bonnie moved to Presbyterian Manor Assisted Living. She loved her time there, forging caring friendships with all the staff and residents she encountered. With her always-open-door policy that enticed everyone passing by to stop in and chat, Bonnie took an interest in each and every person she had the chance to meet. Her telephone was her lifeline, and she enjoyed numerous daily phone calls catching up with family and friends.
Her family wishes to thank the staff and residents of Presbyterian Manor for their supportive care, kindness, respect and friendship they bestowed on Mom/Grandma/GiGi over the past three and half years.
Bonnie is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Floyd; her son, Steven Greenwood; her brother, Arthur “Artie” Gribben Jr.; and her sister, Patricia Palen.
She is survived by her two daughters, Janet Arnold (Rocky), Topeka, and Jo Ann Westra (Geoffrey), Prairie Village; three granddaughters, Jessica Sisco Peterson (Stephen), Denver, Colo., Evan Arnold (fiancé Max Bridges), Kansas City, Mo., and Jenna Westra, Vail, Colo.; and two great-grandchildren, Conrad and Munro Peterson, Denver, Colo.
Memorial services will be 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 26, at the United Methodist Church, Overbrook. The family will greet friends for a visitation 10 a.m., prior to the service, at the church. A private inurnment will be at Overbrook Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Overbrook Library and sent in c/o Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home, P.O. Box 268, Overbrook, KS 66524.
Condolences may be left at Lamb-Roberts.com.
