Obituary for Donna “Bonnie” Marti

Donna “Bonnie” Marti, age 94, of Auburndale, passed away in the afternoon on September 2, 2024, at Wells Nature View in Marshfield. A memorial service will be held at noon on Monday, September 16, 2024, at St. John’s Lutheran Church (George Avenue) in Auburndale. Rev. Mark Lundgren will officiate. Visitation will be held at St. John’s Church before the service from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM. Burial will take place at St. John’s Cemetery in Auburndale on Shady Road following the service.

Bonnie was born May 20, 1930, the daughter of Noel and Lillian (Brown) Thorpe in Marshfield, Wisconsin. She graduated from Auburndale High School in 1948 as the salutatorian. She attended nurses training for the first semester at Gustavus Adolphus College, continued her education at Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul, and completed her nurse’s training at St. Joseph’s School of Nursing in Marshfield, Wisconsin in 1953. On April 29, 1950, she was united in marriage to the love of her life, Jacob “Art” Marti, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. Art and Bonnie enjoyed 71 years of marriage before Art’s passing on June 3, 2021. They were a real-life example of joy, love, and commitment in marriage.

Bonnie was a nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital starting in 1955, she took the Greyhound bus to work and Art picked her up to take her home. Marshfield had one of the first ICUs in the state of Wisconsin. She was the head nurse from 1966 to 1970 then worked at UWSP as a student health nurse for a year. She returned to the ICU for five more years. From 1975 to 1982 she worked at The Center (nursing home) and then returned to St. Joseph’s Hospital in the lab from 1982 until her retirement in December of 1991. She enjoyed nursing and was a role model for others in the nursing profession. She was a member and active participant in various Nursing organizations throughout her career.

She was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church her entire life and was very proud to be baptized, confirmed, and a lifelong member of the same church. Her faith was the cornerstone of her life and she began each day by reading the bible. She was a member of St. John’s Ladies Aide, and she and Art regularly attended Adult Bible Study.

Bonnie loved camping, traveling, and fishing. She always had a camera with her taking pictures of her travels, family, and friends. Both Art and Bonnie enjoyed spending time with family and friends. They traveled all over the state to support their grandchildren’s activities and continued to attend their great-grandchildren’s events. She loved spending time at the family cabin and trips to the casino. Bonnie loved hosting gatherings at their house, especially at Christmas. Each year, she would find the perfect tree, flocked it, and decorated it to perfection. She was known for an ever-increasing variety of Christmas cookies and thoroughly enjoyed decorating sugar cookies at her house with her grandchildren.

Her love for travel began as a child when Bonnie’s parents took the family camping for six weeks visiting Yellowstone National Park. Art and Bonnie enjoyed traveling with friends and family, visiting Hawaii, Norway, and road-tripping around the United States. An interesting fact about Bonnie is that her given name was Donna. She preferred to be called Bonnie and disliked the name Donna. Many people – even close friends – were unaware of her given first name.

Bonnie is lovingly survived by her children: Connie (Dave) Weiler, and Tom (Cindy) Marti both of Auburndale; siblings: Patricia Kowalski (Tallahassee, FL), and Peggy (Wayne) Tomforhde of Osceola; sisters-in-law: Arlene Marti of Vesper, and Joan Zubke (Butch) of Marshfield. She is further survived by grandchildren: Rob Marti of Broken Arrow, OK, Amanda (Casey) Cain of Coweta, OK, T.J. (Tiffany) Marti of Tulsa, OK, Saul Weiler (Kari), Kaia (Shaun) Cherney, Joren (Jay) Anderson of Auburndale, Whitney Weiler (Jamie) of Campbell, CA, Nick (Ashley) Marti of Wisconsin Rapids, Jordan (Julia) Marti of La Crosse, and Luke (Becca) Marti of Iola-Scandinavia. She was adored by her 22 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. She will truly be missed.

Bonnie is preceded in death by her husband, Art; as well as her parents: Noel and Lillian (Brown) Thorpe; and in-laws: Jacob and Cleo (Trotter) Marti; her brother: Noel Thorpe Jr.: and son: Robert “Bob” Marti (Major U.S. Army): as well as her sister-in-law: Judy Frazier: and brother-in-law: Ronald Marti.

A special thank you to the staff at Wells Nature View and St. Croix Hospice for the exceptional care that they provided.