Bonita “Bonnie” Jean Fergus Crichton, aka Mrs. Crichton of Conesus, NY: Born in Angola, Indiana on August 15, 1949, Bonnie grew up in Findley Lake, NY, and relished living the last 35 years on a wooded hillside in Conesus, NY.
Bonnie graduated Valedictorian from Clymer Central School in 1967, and received her master’s degree from SUNY Geneseo in 1971. She spent most of her career teaching English to 7th graders at Pavilion Central School. You can recognize her former students by their impressive ability to diagram sentences.
Bonnie was an active member of the United Methodist Church of Livonia. Beyond the local church, she also found joy teaching, serving in Lay Servant Ministries, and providing leadership for the United Methodist Western NY Conference.
She hated to fly, but loved to be behind the wheel of her car. Vacations, adventures, Emily’s soccer games, even driving across the country twice, enabling her to fulfill her lifelong goal of visiting Alaska. In retirement, she combined her love of the road with her passion for helping others by driving patients to medical appointments for Catholic Charities.
An ardent Buffalo Bills fan, Sunday afternoons were for folding laundry and watching football. She also never turned down a round of Boggle, Bananagrams, or Rummikub, and was always ready to pull together a euchre match.
Bonnie loved her extended family and was a pillar of the Montgomery clan. She was their historian, secretary, and treasurer, and avidly researched her family genealogy.
Thank you to everyone who supported Bonnie during her journey. We recognize we will never know all of the countless ways you helped during her final years.
Bonnie was preceded by her parents Barney and Margie Fergus and her children Joseph, Jacob, James, and Mary Crichton. She is survived by her husband Peter Crichton, daughter Emily (Ross) O’Hara, brother Ben (Sheri) Fergus, Norwegian exchange sister Betzy (Torfinn) Naper, and nieces, nephews, and cherished family and friends she lovingly adopted along the way.
Family and friends may call at the United Methodist Church of Livonia, 21 Summers Street, Livonia, NY 14487 for drive-thru visitation on Tuesday, September 15th, from 5-7pm. The family will greet visitors in front of the church. All are welcome to attend and we ask that everyone remain in their vehicles. For public health, the family will hold Bonnie’s funeral privately. The service will be livestreamed Wednesday, September 16th, at 3pm on the church Facebook page: https://facebook.com/UMCLivonia. Burial will be held privately at Grove Hill Cemetery, Oil City, PA. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to the United Methodist Church of Livonia at the address above. To send a condolence or share a memory please visit: www.doughertyfuneralhomes.com
