Bonnie Jean Ferrell Lerude, a native Nevadan and the daughter of one of Nevada’s mining-town doctors, died peacefully at her home on August 27.  She was 86.

A twin born on New Year’s Eve in 1919, Bonnie was raised in Fallon on a ranch in the old Wildes District, now part of the Naval Air Station.   Her father, Dr. James C. Ferrell, practiced medicine in Fallon, first coming to Nevada as the doctor for the mining towns of Fairview and then Wonder.  In 1935, Dr. Ferrell was appointed Superintendent of the Nevada State Hospital, and the family moved to Sparks, where Bonnie graduated with honors from Sparks High School in 1938.   As career options for women were limited, Bonnie elected to pursue training in cosmetology and graduated from Sullivan Career College in San Jose, California.

With the onset of World War II, Bonnie’s twin, James Ferrell, Jr., enlisted in the Army.  Bonnie supported the war effort by working in the shipyards of The Henry J. Kaiser Company in Richmond, California.  She started as a timekeeper working the graveyard shift on the transport ships being built to carry troops to the Pacific and Europe; her office was a “time shack” on the ship’s hull.  She was then promoted to administrative assistant in Kaiser’s main offices, remaining in that role until the end of the war, when the shipyards were closed.

In 1947, Bonnie joined three other Kaiser secretaries who moved east pursuing new employment.  While in Chicago and looking up a “war buddy” for a friend’s husband, she accepted a position managing the office for the newly established London House restaurant, on Wacker Drive at Michigan Avenue.  While working in Chicago, she was an invited guest at President Harry Truman’s inauguration in Washington, D.C.

Bonnie returned to Reno in 1949 to be with her mother, Gladys Rea Ferrell, who had lung cancer.  In 1950, she married Leslie R. Lerude, owner of Reno’s landmark Wigwam Coffee Shop.  The couple had one son, D. Gary Lerude, and was divorced in 1961.

Bonnie owned the Mademoiselle Beauty Salon from 1960 through 1980.  She was a licensed real estate agent from 1968 through 1980 and a real estate broker from 1980 until her retirement in 2003.

She was very active in the community: a founding member of the Better Business Bureau of Northern Nevada and the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra and Association, and a member of the American Business Women, National Association of Business and Professional Women, Soroptimist International, and Reno Board of Realtors.  For many years Bonnie volunteered to register voters, a reflection of her interest in politics.

She was a long-standing member of the American Baptist Church and was the first woman elected to the Board of Trustees of the First Baptist Church of Reno, subsequently serving as chair.  She was a charter member of the American Baptist Fellowship, which meets at Classic Residence in Reno.  Her strong faith sustained her throughout her life, most recently during her battle with lung cancer.

Bonnie was a member of what Tom Brokaw has called The Greatest Generation.  With her values framed by the Great Depression and World War II, her life exemplified religious faith, hard work, service to the community, and independence.  As a single mother and business owner during the 1960s, she quietly pioneered her way before many of today’s legal rights and societal norms for women were accepted.

Bonnie leaves her adored son, Gary; two precious grandchildren, Andrea and Grant; her daughter-in-law Lori, whom she admires for her devotion to family and total involvement in her children’s lives; nieces Jeanette Crane, Ann Bonari, and Mary Ferrell-Wyman; her sister-in-law, Nona Ferrell; many caring friends; and her loyal Queensland Heeler, Shelly.  Her mother, father, niece (Rita Louise Ferrell), and twin brother preceded her in death.

A memorial service will be held at Walton’s Sierra Chapel, 875 West Second Street in Reno, on Saturday, September 9th at 2:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that Bonnie’s memory be honored by a donation to the Circle of Life Hospice Foundation, 1575 Delucchi Lane, Suite 214, Reno, NV 89502.