Bonnie Elizabeth Conrad

CONRAD, Bonnie Elizabeth (Grape), age 76, of Maplewood, MN, died peacefully on June 6th, 2025, surrounded by her family. She is proceeded in death by her beloved husband and loving partner of 36 years, Hank Conrad (who was surely waiting for her in Heaven as patiently as he can); her parents Eugene and Florence Grape; sisters Joanne Faust, Mary Meissner, Julie Grape; and brother, Michael Grape.

Bonnie is survived by her children, Danielle (John) Metzger, Denise (Nate) Ayshford, Debbie (Daniel Russell) Zeimet, Joe (Jess) Conrad, Rita (Trent) Cole; grandchildren, Samantha (Landen), Lindsay (Brandon), Sara (Ryan), Taylor, Avery, Ashtyn, Paige, Taylor, Dominik, Hailey, Olivia, Harper, Alyssa (Matt), Jake (Sammi), Jasper, Brandi, Jack, Regan, and Kyle; great-grandchildren, Kinley, Sophie, Kolten, Kiera, Kellen, Gemma, Carter, Rowan, Hunter, Ava, Declan, Kairi, and one soon to be born; siblings, Karen Stahlmann and Richard Grape.

Bonnie loved spending time with her husband. Together they enjoyed hunting, their hunting dogs (Raider, Bailey & Max), fishing, shooting, boating, snow skiing, sailing the BVI, and a good bonfire. Bonnie loved to garden, can, cook, make wine, read, sew, and especially loved children. She also had a great affinity for wildlife and enjoyed bird watching, to which she could name birds right off the top of her head towards the end. She was especially fond of the visiting foxes, the nests of Eagles, and Three Legs the doe that lived on their property. Bonnie also loved a good drink on their “Happy Hour” deck where many of the world’s problems were solved. She loved joking around and for years told her sons-in-law individually that they were her favorite, until they figured out that she was telling each of them that, every time she saw them.

Bonnie graduated from North St. Paul High School and attended the University of Minnesota for child psychology. She started as a secretary for Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance and during that time built a home on her parents’ land to raise her children. She then started her successful in-home daycare business, Jumping Jacks Daycare, which often had a waiting list to get in to. For 21 years she took care of many children that she loved and treated as her own before retiring. Bonnie was also a Girl Scout troop leader and volunteered to help for many causes throughout the years.

After retiring, Bonnie and Hank moved up north to enjoy the lake and woods and lived just outside the Chippewa National Forest. Bonnie started working at the Cass Lake Schools as a cook in the kitchen because she just couldn’t stop taking care of children and making sure everyone was fed. Bonnie and Hank managed the North Star Sportsman’s Gun Club for a while, where they were both Firearms Instructors and took great pride (esp.) teaching women and youth proper gun safety and how to shoot. She also became an avid trap shooter and sometimes gave the men a run for their money. Bonnie was a proud member of the NRA and also helped start an NRA Women on Target chapter up north. She loved to go hunting with Hank and together they thoughtfully harvested many of God’s creatures, leaving nothing to waste. She even harvested two black bears of her own.

Bonnie taught her daughters to be strong and independent like she was, how to take care of their children, and told them (without discounting men) that they could do anything a man could do. And they did. They also learned to hunt, fish, garden, cook and can from her. She was a fierce protector when they were little, a tough love parent as they grew older, and she wasn’t afraid to tell them she didn’t agree with something they did, but she also wasn’t afraid to tell them when she was wrong.

Bonnie was also very involved in their church, St. Theodore of Taurus Catholic Church, where she was a lector and helped with anything that was needed. She loved a good joke, was extremely independent, stubborn, compassionate, thoughtful, tough, kind-hearted and willing to help her family and friends at any time and was known for not being afraid to speak her mind. Bonnie’s stubbornness and quick wit has shown through this horrible disease until the end. We were grateful every time some smart-Alec words came out, because it meant she was still there with us. Bonnie cherished nature, her family and close friends, and she will be greatly missed by all of those who knew her. She will be especially missed by her daughters. If you prefer, memorials can be made to the Alzheimer's Association in Bonnie’s name.