Bonnie Waldrep

Bonnie Lou Waldrep passed away on the 12th day of June, 2016, after having observed her 99th birthday on May 22nd. She was "Mom", "Aunt Bonnie" or just "Bonnie", depending upon who was extending the greeting, but regardless of the name she was a friend to all who had the pleasure of meeting her. In 1996, Bonnie was predeceased by her husband of 61 years, Ernest Waldrep, and lived quite independently until she was 92 years old. Bonnie was also predeceased by her parents, John and Amanda (Saine) Black, and her 5 brothers and 4 sisters. She is survived by her daughters, Jo Ann Hartzog and Johnna Riggins, and her sons, Charlie Waldrep and Bob (Debra) Waldrep, who all reside in the Birmingham area. She also leaves behind 7 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, 2 great-great-grandchildren and a host of nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by one granddaughter, Brittany Waldrep, in 2006. Bonnie was born in Gainesville, Georgia, in 1917, where she went to work in a local textile mill as soon as she was old enough to do so. In 1935, Ernest and she ran away to Walhalla, S.C., where they were married. Years later, when asked by her children why they ran away to get married, she laughed and said, "Well, I don't know. Walhalla is just where we all went to get married back then!"

After giving birth to two daughters and a son in Gainesville, Ernest and Bonnie moved to Birmingham in 1951, where he was employed for many years in the wholesale car business until his retirement, and where they had their 4th child. She was a "housewife" before that term morphed into "a stay at home mom." Bonnie loved to cook and the joy she derived from cooking was exceeded only by the pleasure she received from having others enjoy her cooking. An out of town relative once said, "If we pass through Birmingham at 2:00 a.m., we know we can knock on Aunt Bonnie's door and she'll get right out of bed to make a pot of coffee, a pan of hot biscuits and black eye gravy. And when we get through she'll slice us a piece of cake she made the day before!" All holiday meals were special at Bonnie's home because she was surrounded with children, and later on, in-laws, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. While all the meals were good and plentiful, Easter was always hotdogs! She served hotdogs of every description. There would be regular, all beef, fat free, chicken, turkey, you name it - all provided with her special homemade slaw. Bonnie loved the Lord, regularly read her Bible and was a faithful member of Huffman Baptist Church for as many years as her health permitted her to attend. One of her favorite expressions when confronting a problem was, "Everything looks better in the daylight!" If it was already daylight she would say, "Well then, it already looks better!" Bonnie's family is secure in the knowledge she is with her Lord after a very long journey. Rev. Larry Smith will officiate her funeral that will be a graveside service at Jefferson Memorial Gardens in Trussville on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, at 11:00 a.m. Pallbearers will be Tommy Rodgers, Todd Miner, Noel Welch, Dal Edward Welch, Tyler Waldrep and Dylan Waldrep. The family requests that in lieu of flowers memorial gifts be made to the Norma Livingston Foundation for Ovarian Cancer Research or to a favorite charity of your choice.