03/16/2026
Bonnie Sharlene Nicol
Bon Ganatos Nicol, 86, passed away in her Thompson Falls home on September 5, 2025. She was born May 7, 1939, in Sacramento, CA to parents Lester & Violet Yager, and 9 year old sister Shirley. The Yager family lived in the Redding, CA area for many years, with Bonnie graduating from Shasta Union High School in 1957. She attended Chico State College with her high school sweetheart Gerasimo "Jerry" Ganatos, and they were married after graduating in the spring of 1959.
In November 1960 they welcomed son, Nick. After moving several times around Northern CA & the Portland, OR area, they settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, Concord, CA, where their second child Shari was born in September 1962. With Jerry managing several Kinney & Cushions shoe stores & Bonnie working as a teller for Bank of America, they remained in the Concord area for almost 10 years. After a summer trip to Thompson Falls in 1971 to pick up Nick and Shari, who had spent the summer with Bonnie's sister Shirley Boswell at Snider, the family sold their home in California and relocated to Thompson Falls in 1972. Jerry got on with the Forest Service & Bonnie worked for Norm Kern at his title company and real estate office. After Bonnie and Jerry divorced in 1973, Jerry returned to Northern California, where he lived until his death in 1980. Bonnie and her kids remained in Thompson Falls, where she raised them primarily as a single mother, except for the occasional boyfriend and a second husband, which she likened to just raising more children. During those years Bonnie worked very hard at several local businesses to save enough money to buy three lots in Thompson Falls, where she had a new modular home placed.
In 1981 Bonnie married Jim Nicol before moving to Fairbanks, AK. They divorced in 1983, and Bonnie remained for a short time, as she worked for Japan Airlines. She was finally hired by Alaska Airlines & relocated to Federal Way, WA, where she worked at Seattle's Seatac Airport for the next 22 years. While living & working in the Puget Sound area she made strong friendships that lasted until her death, especially many coworkers at AK Airlines.
Upon her retirement in 2005, she was able to buy back her Thompson Falls home that she sold in 1981. She dreamed of moving back, as she always considered Montana home. Many will remember her working at Empire Builders/Ace Hardware until just a few years ago. She very much enjoyed working with the people there, as she established many more good friendships. Our mom was an avid gardener and enjoyed crocheting, knitting, and was a lover of animals. She loved to go hunting, but primarily just to get out in the mountains to spend time with her son and her sister up until Shirl's death in 2016. These hunting excursions involved a lot of snacking and chatting, with her never firing a shot, but get out of the way when an animal was down, as she was the 1st one to jump in to dress out the deer & the occasional elk. She and her sis considered themselves mountain women, but always with hair and makeup done just right.
As a young girl, her father taught her how to work on cars, and she also loved barrel racing as a teen. As a mom, she was Nick's Cub Scout pack leader, as well as Shari's Brownie troop leader. With Jerry working all the time she was always there for her kids back then, and all the way up to the very day she passed. We are sure we let her down at times during our teen years, and also time-to-time as adults, but she was always there for us, as well as others in need of help. Bonnie's greatest loves in life were her kids, grands and great grands, and all of her dogs, not always necessarily in that order.
Bonnie was preceded in death by her parents, Les and Vi Yager; stepdad Lesley Prusia; and her sister Shirley Boswell.
She is survived by her son Nick (Laura) Ganatos, Trout Creek; daughter Shari Mckenzie, Thompson Falls; grandson Ryan (Casey) Tuttle with great grands Tytus, Ramsey, Nya and Neo, Helena, MT; grandson Sean (Devon) Ganatos with great grands Kamela, McKenna and Jaxson, Twin Falls, ID; grandson Scott (Priscilla) Ganatos with great grands Ella and Talia, Visalia, CA.
Bonnie would be extremely happy and proud of the many friends & community members that provided so much compassion and support to all of us after her passing. A special thanks goes out to Dan and W***y, Jaki, Nanette and Sheri.
Mom requested no service and the family hopes to gather in the future to honor her. In lieu of condolences or flowers, she suggested that donations please be made to TRACS or your favorite animal shelter.
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