Bonita "Bonnie" Andrews

Bonita “Bonnie” Andrews , 96 , born in 1925, at home in Des Moines, Iowa passed away August 19th, 2021.

Survived by daughters Nancy Overbey and Janice Carter of Nashville and sons Lance Andrews of Athens, GA and Randy and Brad Andrews of Franklin, 5 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Preceded in death by her husband Raymond and her daughter Cheryl LeClair. Her sisters Dorothy Girrard of Laguna Hills, CA and Mariam Berntsen of Marion, IA. Her mother Orma (Hankins) Brown and her father Miles West Brown.

A member of the “Greatest Generation”, Bonita spent her childhood in the Highland Park district of Des Moines. She resided with an extended family and was very close with her sisters and their children and considered her niece Francine and her nephew Earl to be more like her brother and sister due to their proximity in age with her.

She attended North High School in Des Moines and had a passion for singing and was even selected as one of the Victory Queens during WWII and sang with a band at the Riviera Ballroom.

With her first child born in 1943 and her last born in 1963 she spent a good part of forty years raising her children into adulthood.

Bonnie was a member of the First Federated Church in Des Moines, IA and spent a great deal of her time taking many varied adult education courses with friends.

In 1981 her husband Raymond retired from his position with the State of Iowa and moved to Bowling Green, KY where he worked with a Nashville based entertainment company, which later led to their move to Nashville a year later.

Mrs. Andrews was a retiree of Castner Knott in Nashville and prior to that Continental Western Insurance in Des Moines.

In early retirement Bonita was fortunate to travel extensively with her husband including an extended trip to Europe to spend time with their youngest son. In later retirement Bonita traveled frequently with her children around the United States and Europe along with cruises to Panama, Mexico and Canada and the US west coast.

Bonita was fortunate to by coincidence in Nashville meet up with what would become one of her closest friends, Phyllis Eggenberger, who it turned out had grown up in her hometown and that they had attended the same high school at around the same time.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Jose Andre’s World Central Kitchen at WCK.org