Bonnie Joan Barton

Bonnie Joan Barton, age 92, of Fort Collins CO passed away May 28, 2026. Our beloved mom lived a long, full life, full of adventure, accomplishment, kindness and love, and deserves more recognition than she ever sought.

She was born Nov. 5, 1933, and was raised in Morgantown WV in the multigenerational home of Olma and Edgar Cecil (Bill) Barton. Bill was a coal miner, and died tragically in a coal mining collapse, the same year Bonnie graduated High School. She went to work immediately to help support her family. She met and married John M Staley, and they relocated many times while he completed 2 postgraduate degrees and did a stint in the Army, and during that period, Bonnie bore two daughters, Anna and Mary. Eventually, they moved from Parsons WV to Fort Collins Colorado, where the family settled and their third daughter Patricia was born. Bonnie and John divorced in 1977. She never remarried, and reverted to her maiden name.

Motherhood was Bonnie’s top priority all through her life, and she was the best mom ever. Her love and affection for her daughters extended to all our friends, companions and offspring. We were frequently offered to trade moms with our friends, but were never once tempted. Through all the various emotional or physical traumas of life, we were always – ALWAYS – secure in her love.

Bonnie’s interests and abilities extended much further than the role of “housewife and mom,” however. While her daughters were in school, she took in typing, volunteered at the O’Dea Elementary school library, worked as a secretary for a realtor and in the CSU Human Resources department, became the Religious Education Director for the Unitarian Universalist Church (now Foothills Unitarian) and with Ann Azari, successfully advocated for the construction of the RE wing of the then “new” church we now occupy. She enthusiastically embraced our family vacation or weekend camping or picnic excursions, allowed us to have a complete menagerie of pets which included (not simultaneously, but always more than one at a time) dogs, cats (with kittens) guinea pigs, gerbils, fish, parakeets, snakes and mice. We were never discouraged from pursuing any literary, scientific or artistic endeavor, and our home was full of rock collections, butterfly specimens, native American artifacts and artwork, novels and encyclopedias, crocheting and embroidery and sewing projects, and music of many genres; classical, Broadway musicals, rock, pop, and folk. She drove us to all the activities: music lessons, swim lessons, folk dancing, club and church gatherings. She made sure we got to do ALL THE THINGS.

All the while, she continued to develop her own intellect, skills and independence with a wide variety of volunteer, creative, educational and professional endeavors. She led by example and modeled the ideals of the blossoming feminist movement, pursuing college degrees and financial independence. She enrolled at CSU in 1970, and obtained BS and MS degrees in Child Development and Family Studies, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1976. Her Master’s thesis was on the topic of Police/Community Relations and while collecting data by doing ride-alongs with as many local departments as she could establish the trust of (which was all of them!) she developed a life-long enthusiasm for experiencing and documenting the drama and what she saw as the heroic work of the law enforcement community along with firefighters, search & rescue, and emergency medical responders, and she unwaveringly stood for the rights of women, minorities, disabled or disadvantaged persons everywhere. She participated in many volunteer causes that reflected her dedication to nature and humanity – she put in countless hours of volunteer work with O’Dea Elementary library, Foothills Unitarian Religious Education, Roadhouse Crisis Hotline, Operation Osprey, Larimer County Democrats, the Fort Collins Audubon Club, IdeaWild, and the Northern Colorado Chapter of the American Red Cross, to name a few.

Bonnie is survived by her three daughters: Mary, Anna, and Patricia; two granddaughters: Elan and Willow; one great-grandson: Damian; and two half-sisters: Pat and Natalie. Mom considered everyone related to us her family too. She was loved and respected by all who came to know her well, and will be fondly remembered and deeply missed.

Should anyone wish to make donations in her memory, her favorite charities include:

Animal Friends Alliance

Northern Colorado Chapter of the American Red Cross

Larimer County Food Bank

Crossroads Safehouse

The Nature Conservancy

World Wildlife Fund

or any organization dedicated to assisting people, animals, or environmental conservation.

Celebration of Life

Foothills Unitarian Church

1:00pm Saturday, November 7, 2026

Please join us to share your memories of Bonnie, and join us afterwards for coffee, pie and conversation.