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April 13, 1949-July 2, 2026
Cave Creek, Ariz.
Bonnie Jean Reardon Dammel, 77, of Cave Creek, AZ, passed away on July 2, 2026, with her stepson, Michael, her stepdaughter, Melissa, and her beloved caregiver, Stacey, by her side. Bonnie was born April 13, 1949, to Mabel Laramore Runnels and Donald Runnels. She was baptized in First Lutheran Church, Minot, ND. Bonnie joined sister Georgine who was 10 years older. Bonnie deeply loved Georgine. One memory she held especially dear was watching Georgine get ready for Saturday night dances in the 1950s.
Bonnie graduated from Minot High School in 1967, and went to work at a local television station. She married her long-time boyfriend, Bruce Coughlin, in 1968. Bruce was in the military and prior to being deployed to Vietnam, they lived in Puerto Rico and Maine. While in Maine, Bonnie worked as an office assistant. She was especially fond of their landlords, an older couple who took to this young couple from North Dakota. Bonnie remembered going to pay their rent each month and their landlord would give them fresh lobster for dinner. He was a lobster fisherman and taught these North Dakota landlocked renters that you steam lobster and never boil it.
When Bruce was deployed to Vietnam, Bonnie returned to Minot. At the time, her mom, Mabel, was the house mother at the local YWCA. Bonnie wanted to help young women there, so she met with the YWCA Board and they approved her to teach aerobic classes three times a week. Bonnie also worked for Northern States Power Company and St. Joseph's Hospital. When Bruce returned from Vietnam, their marriage experienced great stressors, which contributed to its decline and eventual dissolution.
Bonnie started her own administrative services business, partnered in an interior design business, and later worked as a dental assistant in the office of Dr. Vernon Reardon. Bonnie described Vern as the love of her life and they married in December 1985. She adored him and loved every part of their social, community and dental profession engagements. They were involved in Norsk Hostfest, First Lutheran Church, North Dakota Dental Association & Auxiliary, Minot School Board, North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. They made lasting memories traveling, golfing with friends at the Minot Country Club, visiting Vern's hometown of Medina, ND, skiing at Big Sky, MT, attending the annual Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, MN, and joining friends at Lake Metigoshe as well as countless other fun engagements.
Through her marriage to Vern, Bonnie was able to be Grandma Bonnie to Maria, Brendan, Riley, Kaitlin, Zachery, Alexandra, Abigail, Tessa, Austin, Sophie and Sydney. Unable to have children of her own, she was so grateful that she got to experience being a grandmother. Bonnie loved spending time with her grandchildren reading books, going for walks, swimming at the pool and snuggling in to watch movies. Being a grandmother was truly one of her cherished joys.
Vern was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor in late 1996, and he died in April 1998. Bonnie cared for Vern at their home, with the help of Hospice. They had been married 12 ½ years. Shortly after Vern died, Bonnie was diagnosed with cancer in the islet cells of the liver.
After several treatments and eventual removal of the problematic liver lobe, Bonnie became a cancer survivor for more than 20 years. During this time, Bonnie married Len Dammel, another fine fellow from Medina, ND. Len and Bonnie shared a beautiful life together. Like Bonnie, Len also loved to read, and each house they lived in showcased their love of books. Len was quite the outdoorsman and Bonnie let him know that while she would eat pheasant and venison, she drew the line at squirrels. Bonnie introduced Len to the game of golf, and they enjoyed golfing many small town courses across North Dakota and others in Arizona. The North Shore of Minnesota was a special place for them. They were spending summers in North Dakota and winters in Arizona when Len was diagnosed with lung cancer. Bonnie cared for Len with the help of Hospice. They had been married 14 years.
After Len died in 2014, Bonnie moved to Cave Creek, AZ, full time. Bonnie's sister, Georgine Hovde, and her family had all relocated to the Phoenix area. Bonnie now lived close to her sister and brother-in-law Ron; nephew Lonnie and niece-in-law Ann; nephew Brian; and nephew Tim and niece-in-law Stacy. Bonnie loved spending time with her Hovde family, and they enjoyed many holidays, homemade pizza nights and other special times together. She grew even closer to Lonnie and Ann in recent years.
Bonnie's Arizona move also put her living in the same city as her lifelong best friend, Bonnie Hoffert. Bonnie and Bonnie met in kindergarten and maintained their sister-bond up until Bonnie Hoffert died in September 2020. Losing her lifelong best friend was extremely difficult. Bonnie leaned into her many other wonderful friendships with lifelong Minot friends. She had stayed in close touch with many of them throughout her life. She visited them where they lived and they often visited her in Arizona.
Bonnie also had many friends in her Cave Creek neighborhood. They gathered regularly to share a meal, play games, hang out by the pool, walk their dogs and laugh. Bonnie met still other new friends when she started a neighborhood book club. Bonnie also met friends through her Shepherd of the Valley and La Casa de Cristo churches, including her retired nurse friend, Karen Bauer. Karen and Bonnie shared a special connection, and created many wonderful memories traveling, socializing and sharing the occasional glass of red wine or iced tea. Through Karen, Bonnie met a great group of retired nurses, and they also met frequently for dinner and laughs. Additionally, Bonnie reconnected with another group of friends of hers and Vern's from Minot, ND, who had also relocated to Arizona. This group, too, met regularly for laughs and reminiscing.
In recent years, Bonnie experienced even more loss. Her beloved sister, Georgine died, as did a special male friend in Bonnie's life. Losing Georgine was particularly shattering. Bonnie endured this additional grief while at the same time experiencing changes in her own health. Her chronic disease diagnoses were significant and Bonnie managed them with grace, determination, strength and humor. She accepted that even though she had been active throughout her life and never smoked a cigarette, her body was likely impacted by summers spent at the family farm when she was a child. Bonnie was a life-long walker, and over the years she especially loved walking with her dogs Buddy, Maxie, Daisy, Gracie and Kenzie.
Through all of the hardship, Bonnie talked about what a wonderful life she had, and how very grateful she was for every blessing God had given her. Her calendar was joyously overflowing with social events. She truly loved spending time with friends, and she had an amazing gift of making each of them feel special. She also treasured the relationships she shared with Vern and Len's children, Douglas, Phillip, Michael, Melissa, Dan and Vicki.
Her survivors include Vern's children: Douglas Reardon (Kristen Stout Reardon), and Melissa Reardon (Wayne Ham), all of Fargo, ND; Phillip Reardon of Bali, Indonesia; and Michael Reardon of Minneapolis, MN. And Len's son, Dan Dammel of Fargo, ND. Kirsten Reardon and Vicki Dammel preceded her in death.
Bonnie was Grandma Bonnie to Maria Davies (Christopher) of Duluth, MN; Brendan Reardon, Alexandra Guldseth (Jordan), and Abigail Olson, all of Fargo, ND; Riley Reardon and Kaitlin Reardon of Adelaide, Australia; Zachery Olson of Madison, WI; Tessa Burns (Peter) of Annandale, MN; Austin Youngs (Karly) of Buffalo, MN; Sophie Reardon of St. Cloud, MN; and Sydney Reardon of Minneapolis, MN. And Great Grandma Bonnie to Hollis.
She is also survived by her brother-in-law, Ron Hovde, nephew Lonnie Hovde (Ann), and nephew Brian Hovde, all of Mesa, AZ; and nephew Tim Hovde (Stacy) of Madison, Virginia. And great nieces Vanessa (Austin) Cooper of Cottonwood, AB, and Shelby Wells of Dothan, AB. As well as great-great nephew, Landen; and great-great nieces Bailey, Oaklynn and Hadley.
Bonnie was preceded in death by her parents Donald and Mabel Runnels, sister, Georgine Hovde, husband, Vernon Reardon, and husband, Len Dammel.
There will be a Celebration of Life service for Bonnie at 11:00 MST/1:00 Central on Monday, July 20, at La Casa De Cristo Lutheran Church, 6300 E Bell Rd, Scottsdale, AZ, 85254. For those who are unable to attend in person, her service will be livestreamed at https://live.lacasadecristo.com/. If you are unable to join the livestream and want to view the recorded service at a later date, please contact one of Bonnie's family members.
Per Bonnie’s wishes, her ashes will be buried next to Vern at the Medina Cemetery, Medina, ND, on Monday, August 24, 2026. Following the graveside service, please join the family for fellowship and refreshments at English Lutheran Church, Medina, ND at 11 a.m.
Published by The Minot Daily News, July 18, 2026.