Bonnie Joan (Hansen) Baines

Bonnie Joan Hansen Baines passed away February 28, 2017.  Beloved wife of 50 years to Patrick Baines, and loving mother of Arthur (Rhonda) Baines and Daniel (Laura) Baines.  Bonnie was born in West Allis, Wisconsin, the eldest daughter of James and Addy Hansen.  She graduated from Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, WI with a BA in history, and taught for 25 years in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system in North Carolina, where she was Teacher of the Year in 1979 while at Kennedy Junior High School.
After retiring from teaching, she became a paralegal working on immigration issues.  Bonnie was a tireless volunteer.  She tutored NC Department of Corrections inmates working towards their GEDs.  In 2007 she was awarded the “Feather Award” in recognition of her contributions to the Carolina Raptor Center. 
She loved her family, and raising her two boys was a highlight in her life.  Lunches on the back patio of her first Charlotte home with her pre-school sons was always a memory she fondly recalled.  Bonnie was known to her friends and family as dedicated, driven, feisty, determined, very private, and blind to the color of someone’s skin.  She, with her husband, loved to travel for the opportunities it presented to see the people and places of the world.  Her travels took her to Japan, a safari in Africa, England and Wales, Newfoundland, and Italy.  She also enjoyed spending time in many of our national parks and stayed in shape by walking 4 to 6 miles every day.
A student of Catholicism, Bonnie gave her time to numerous activities through the Catholic Arch Diocese of Charlotte and St. Vincent de Paul parish, serving as a lector, choir member, and Eucharistic minister.  She also participated in scriptural studies, community outreach, faith formation classes, bereavement ministries and the St. Vincent de Paul Society.  She was also a member of the Altar Guild and ACES Senior Club.  
She is also survived by her sisters: Jacqueline (Terrance) Wotruba of Lebanon, TN; Jeanne (Salvatore) De Ianni of Greenfield, WI; Joelle (Robert) Gregorcich of Brookfield, WI; Mary Beth (Wesley) Cameron of Valdosta, GA; Ellen Ann (Jerry) Karpowicz of West Allis, WI; and her brother James (Donna) Hansen Jr of Tinley Park, IL. 
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 6828 Old Reid Road, Charlotte, NC, 20210 on Saturday March 4th at 11:00am, with a rosary being said prior to the Mass at 10:40am.  At a later date burial will be at St. Peter & Paul Cemetery, Virgil, Illinois.  Contributions to the needy may be made through the St. Vincent de Paul Society.  Online condolences may be addressed to www.carolinafuneral.com.  Carolina Funeral Service & Cremation Center is entrusted with the arrangement. 

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