Bonnie Jay Headington left this earth on July 12, 2020 at age 79. She was born in Alameda, California on September 22, 1940 to Jerome and Beth Headington. She had a difficult childhood but found her niche at school where teachers fostered both her and her love of learning, particularly the music teacher who became her godmother, Anita Gibbons Hanley. She started working early (age 11) at an amusement park, shoveling pony manure, a story she loves to tell. She worked at movie theaters, and had a brief stint selling plastic jewelry that her mother made door to door. She wasn't very good at that, preferring to visit with the people she met. Her sister was much more successful, selling enough to keep the family afloat when the father was out of a job. She left home early, spent a short time in Juvenile Hall when it was discovered that she was a minor living without adult supervision. She worked her way through San Francisco State College (dress store, electrical office supplies, singing with a band, and San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind, where she ran the Children's Program) in three years and then taught elementary school for two years in Sebastopol, California. She took a summer job at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, packing change for the slot machines and then as a cashier. Deciding to break her engagement in Sebastopol (his mother hated her) she remained at Tahoe, working at Harrah's and then teaching at Zephyr Cove for another two years. She started taking classes again at University of Nevada, Reno, and then applied for an NDEA fellowship which she got, and which took her to Ohio University for her Master's in Counseling. She stayed in Ohio for her PhD and had a very brief marriage that produced her son, Christopher. She finished her dissertation during Chris' first year of life. Back to Tahoe where she job-searched in a glutted market, while supporting herself at Harrah's again. By 1971 she found a job at Humboldt State College in Arcata, California, where she remained for the next 15 years. In 1976 she adopted her daughter, Tai Sirima, in Thailand. Tai turned out to be a firecracker and a gymnast, and in 1986 she left Arcata and went to Las Vegas where Tai could get more training. She worked there for the McGuire Sisters and then went to work at the Nevada Prison where she developed psychological services for the inmates. From there Tai went to Bela Karolyi's training center in Houston and after a year Bonnie joined her where she worked for the Spring Independent School System as a school psychologist, staying there for about 15 years. Meanwhile, her son Christopher graduated from Stanford, married, and went to Illinois with his wife and then returned to Arcata where he prepared for his diplomacy exam. Unfortunately, his plans were cut short and he died in 1993 of a heart defect.

Tai gave up gymnastics in high school and she and her mother remained in Houston. In Houston Bonnie taught at University of Houston-Clear Lake, counseled at nursing homes, contracted with school districts, had a small private practice, and worked at Spectrum of Hope, where she worked until her passing. Bonnie was one of the psychologists selected right after 9/11 to help with the families of the victims, bringing them to the site to help them understand and accept the enormity of what happened. She counted that as the most significant professional experience of her career.

In 1998 Tai married and had her daughter, Mackenzie. In 1999 she divorced and the two of them moved back home to Houston. Mackenzie Bingham is a dancer and the apple of her grandmother's eye.

Bonnie was known for her humor, her empathy, her belief in her students and clients to find their own paths. She wrote two books (a counseling text and a book about the loss of adult children with her friend, Peggy Boone – Our Walk with Elephants) and a children's book. She was a genealogist and loved horses, both owning and betting on them. After so many years of employment, she thought her racehorses would be a good income source for her retirement but instead they gave her more reasons to keep working.

Bonnie was preceded in death by her biological parents, her godmother, her two sisters and her son, Christopher. She is survived by her daughter Tai and her granddaughter, Mackenzie.

A celebration of life will be had at a later date. In lieu of flowers (although she loved carnations), donations can be made to World Wildlife Fund and/or Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.