Departed from this world, but not gone.
It is with a great deal of regret that I must inform you that Bonnie Glander passed on the morning of June 20th, 2001 due to complications with leukemia. She is the wife of Stephen J. Katzenberger, and friend to many. Bonnie graced us with wit and beauty as one of the Street Characters of our festival and Stephen is a member of the Royal Guard. In a private service for the family, Bonnie’s ashes were interred next to her mother’s in accordance with her wishes.

Bonnie Louise Glander

A Native American Prayer for all who knew her

I give you this one thought to keep-
I am with you still-I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not think of me as gone-
I am with you still-in each new dawn.

My hope-I love you sweetheart. Stephen Katzenberger

During Bonnie's Memorial Service, Steve asked if he could say a few words. Here is a transcript of what he said.

You all knew Bonnie a little bit differently than I knew Bonnie. I knew her a little bit more intimately and she shared a few more of her dreams with me. I'd like to share a few of those dreams with you that she had, give you a little bit of the gift that I knew.

I've had a very hard time with relationships in my life. I've not had good relationships. When I met Bonnie, I was very selfish and bitter. I didn't know how to give without getting something back. Bonnie taught me how to do that with her example of her love for me.

She was the most selfless woman I have ever met in my entire life and the very reason I'm standing here telling you that is witness to that. She was truly one of God's most unselfish and giving creatures that you will ever meet. She stuck with me, and I was not easy to stick with, because she saw something in me that was worthy of her love.

I will never, ever be able to put into words how her life has changed mine or touched me because in my eyes, it was a perfect love. I want to tell you all, all of you here, her family and friends, people she loved, I want to tell you all that she's a product of everything that you all gave to her. She was the best of all of us. The best in all of us.

I also want to tell you one other thing and this is from me. Wives look at your husbands, husbands look at your wives. Brother & sisters, look at each other. Children look at your parents. If there is any healing that needs to be done, let Bonnie's spirit be what brings it about today. Look at each other and tell each other just how precious you are. Bonnie was a healer and a giver. Honor her today by turning to one another and telling each other just how much you mean to one another. Because when you're gone you can't. It's really important that you do it now, you're here. This is the time that God has given you to do this.

Stephen J. Katzenberger

People come into your life for a Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime.
When we figure out which it is, we know exactly what to do.

When someone is in our life for a Reason, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.
They have come to assist us through a difficulty, to provide us with guidance and support, to aid us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason we need them to be.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer we sent up has been answered and it is time to move on.

When people come into your life for a Season, it is because our turn has come to share, grow and learn.
They may bring us an experience of peace or make us laugh.
They may teach us something we have never done before.
They usually give us an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real!
But only for a season.

Lifetime relationships teach us lifetime lessons; those things we must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Our job is to accept the lesson - accept the love Bonnie has brought into our lives, and put what we have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of our lives.

Some people come into our lives, stay awhile, leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same.

In remembrance of Bonnie we pray:

May today there be peace within us.
May we trust god that we are exactly where we are meant to be.
May we no forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May we use those gifts that we have received, and pass on the love that has been given to us.
May we be content knowing that we are children of God.
Let His presence settle into our bones, and allow our soul the freedom to sing, dance, and to bask in the sun.
It is there for each and every one of us.

May God Bless Bonnie, her husband, her family, her friends, and all those she loved.