Our mom is now dancing around Heaven giving praise and glory to her God and seeing Jesus who loves her so much. I know she is absorbing and marveling over all that is Heaven. She is united with our dad after almost 29 years and meeting his father, mother, and sister for the first time! It’s easy to imagine the joy she is having! Then to think she gets to be with her own daddy and mom, her sister and a son who died shortly after being born, as well as so many other relatives and friends. What an adventure she is having meeting Ruth and others from the Bible that she has been reading about all these years. Now some might be “resting in peace” but my mom is just giddy with joy as she is taking this all in.
Bonnie Copenhaver Whited was born in Sunnyside, Washington, and graduated from Sunnyside High School. She went on to graduate from Northwest Christian College. She and our dad then moved to Seattle to pastor at Green Lake Christian Church. This is where their first four children were born. Due to health problems our father had, they moved seven years later to Bainbridge Island. Our father loved to design and build homes. Commodore Lane is a perfect example where every house has a different design. Our mother was busy bringing up four children, bookkeeping for my father, helping at PTA, teaching children on the island about Jesus, and teaching Bible classes at Kingston Christian Church. We were such active children that she decide she needed to write a whole new curriculum and established and taught the first children’s church program in Kingston. Hundreds of children were blessed by this! She also taught and attended women’s Bible classes until late in her eighties. As the years went by our parents decided four children were not enough so were delighted to add three more to the family.
As for us, we are going to be missing her a lot! She has been there for us, praying for every one of us through the years! If you have the gift of a mother who prays for you, well, you know what a blessing you have!
Jan Whited Derry, Chris Whited, Susan Whited Sellen, Ted Whited, Dan Whited, Todd Whited, Elizabeth Whited Liebendorfer, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Her memorial service will be at 1:00 PM on Saturday, June 22, 2019, at Kingston Christian Church,11255 NE Second Street, Kingston, Washington 98346.
