Bonnie Louise Irwin

Longtime Canby resident Bonnie Louise Irwin died at her home Sunday July 4, 2021. She was 92 years old. Bonnie was born March 5, 1929 to Dora Bloom (Coiner) and Henry Ruth Sims of Stayton, OR. She was one of fifteen children (eleven of whom survived to adulthood) so she was always surrounded by family. Bonnie attended Queener Elementary School in Stayton, where all eight grades were taught in a single room. She went on to graduate from Hubbard High School. Bonnie met her husband of 72 years, Arbie Irwin, in 1946. They married June 12, 1949 following his return from the Navy. Bonnie loved her flowers and spent countless hours tending to her beautiful garden in Canby. Gardening was her passion. She was a 4-H leader in the 1970’s for cooking, sewing, gardening and flower arranging. She was also known for her pie baking skills. Anyone who ever tasted her strawberry rhubarb, blueberry or cherry pies would not soon forget it. Bonnie would rescue any living creature, nurse it back to health, and find it a loving home. As a nature lover she was most at home sitting alongside a creek in the woods listening to the birds sing. She was preceded in death by her parents and thirteen siblings. She is survived by her husband Arbie Irwin who resides at the family home in Canby, son Kevin Irwin (Sherrie) of McMinnville, daughters Adelle Isacowitz (Rael) of Newport Beach, CA and Melinda Dyer (William) of Aberdeen, WA, sister Bernell Lowrie of McMinnville, grandchildren Elan Isacowitz, Aaron and Isabelle Dyer, and step-grandchildren Darrick and Lacey Williams. A private family graveside service was held July 12th at Willamette National Cemetery.