Bernice (Bonnie) Senft Behling
Sept. 27, 1926-May 1, 2018
Portola Valley, California

Bernice (Bonnie) Behling, of Portola Valley, passed away peacefully, with family by her side, on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 following a brief illness. Born September 27, 1926, in Aurora, Illinois, Bonnie is survived by daughter Ann Behling Kruger (Peder) of Evergreen, Colorado, son Frederick L. Behling III (Lesa) of Iron River, Michigan, son William R. Behling (Nancy) of Norfolk, Massachusetts, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Dr. Frederick L. Behling, her first daughter, Barbara L. Behling of Palo Alto and sister Evelyn S. Hines of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Bonnie grew up in Batavia, Illinois, the daughter of Henry and Bertha Senft. After graduating from Batavia High School in 1944, she moved to Colorado to pursue a nursing degree at University of Colorado. It was there she met her husband, Fred, who was a medical resident at St. Luke's Hospital in Denver. They were married in 1947 and raised four children, with moves early in Fred’s medical career that took them to and from Oklee, Minnesota; Barstow, California; Rochester, Minnesota; and Fargo, North Dakota. In 1958, Bonnie and Fred moved to Palo Alto, California (as Fred joined the Palo Alto Medical Clinic) and then to Los Altos Hills in 1959, where they lived for almost 35 years. While Fred became one of the preeminent orthopedic physicians in the country and practiced until he retired in 1992, Bonnie managed raising their four children and coordinating the children's busy after-school music and sports activities while regularly volunteering at both the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park and at the Grace Lutheran Church Library in Palo Alto. As the children grew up and left home, Bonnie went back to school, earning a Master’s degree in English from San Jose State University and a membership in the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Bonnie used her degree to teach English as a Second Language for close to 10 years. During their 65 years of marriage, Bonnie and Fred enjoyed a variety of activities together including extensive world travel and the outdoor sports of hiking and cross-country skiing at their second home in Sun Valley, Idaho. Bonnie was an active member of Grace Lutheran Church in Palo Alto since 1958, serving a variety of volunteer roles in the congregation. She will always be remembered for her love of family and music, for her passion for Stanford football, and for her dedication to the proper use of the English language.

Tags: teacher/educator