Larry Bonnell passed away on September 30th, 2021. He died in the hospital from cardiac arrest. We got the call and our hearts sank. We lost a loving father, a generous scholar, and a great friend.

 

My father worked at Western Technical College all the way up to the day before he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital on September 22. He loved to teach in more ways than one and did everything he could to help his students succeed. Even in the hospital he reached out to make sure his students were ok and were prepared for finals.

 

Prior to Western Tech, he had many other jobs. He worked at InterFET with electronics and nanochips in Dallas, would donate his time to fix electrical equipment at local Science Museums, and worked as an instructor at El Paso Community College. He has made many friends along the way and has certainly left his mark in the community.

 

My father was an athlete at heart. He served in the United States Army from 1967 to 1972. He loved to ride his bike almost every day, take walks in the park with his metal detector, and learned and taught Kai Ki Do martial arts.

 

He loved to meet people and make lasting friendships. He was always keeping up with how his friends were doing and would do anything he possibly could when they were in trouble. My father was a ride or die kind of guy!

 

One thing he kept secret was his health. He spent all his time helping others and never wanted to burden people with his problems. He was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2018, he had to get surgery on his legs due to blood clots, his heart was getting to the point he was going to need surgery, and his kidneys were starting to go. Near the end he got COVID and fought through it, teaching the entire time through quarantine. Then he got pneumonia. His body was tired and couldn't fight on it's own. He collapsed, lips blue, on September 22 and was rushed to the hospital. He kept fighting the best he could but they had to resort to intubation and his heart finally gave in on the 30th.

 

His legacy lives on in the heart of his loving wife Linda, his 2 sons, his 3 daughters, as well as his extended family and friends who are family in his eyes.

 

Any amount of donation is greatly appreciated. I just put the goal at $300,000 since we have no idea what the final medical bills are at this point and also my father was the breadwinner of the household. With him gone, my mom is left holding all the pieces. All the funds will be deposited into her bank account to help with Larry's medical bills, funeral costs, and to help his family continue to live worry free.

 

Thank you for your time and your support.