BROOKLINE, VT – Bonnie McCullen Ellison of Brookline, VT, died unexpectedly of Septic Shock on October 3, 2001 in ICU at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, New Hampshire where she was helicoptered from a small hospital near her home. She was 45 years old.
Born on December 29, 1955 at Mary McClellan Hospital, Cambridge, NY, Bonnie was the daughter of Frank and Yvonne McCullen in Cambridge, New York.
A graduate of 1974 @ Cambridge Central School, Bonnie continued her education at SUNY Morrisville in the field of Horticulture. She then got her Bachelor of Arts Degree at Norwich University of Vermont.
Known as the “Pioneer Woman”, she lived in her little house in the woods with her two sons. Bonnie was proud of the fact that she cooked on her old woodstove, Blue Mama, and heated her home solely with the wood she chopped herself.
Bonnie loved life and nature. She was an avid gardener and was noted for her beautiful gardens. She worked as a gardener for several people in the community. Also a creative writer, poet and artist, Bonnie created many wonderful works of art in many forms. She was especially noted for her poems about special people in her life. One of those poems was read at her funeral service which was held in a little country church near her home on October 13, 2001. Bonnie was cremated and her ashes will be spread in her garden with her favorite sheepdog and companion, Heiffer.
Besides her parents, she leaves behind two sons, Mitch 15 and Myles, 13, of Brookline, VT; her husband, Mitchell of Brattleboro, VT; two sisters, Betsy McCullen of Greenwich, NY and Beverly Perry and her husband, Leverne, of Eagle Bridge, NY; a brother Frank McCullen of Granville, NY; one nephew, Bert Perry of Chicopee, MA; two nieces, Adene Karhan of New Cumberland, PA and Alyssa Perry of Eagle Bridge, NY along with several relatives and friends.
A WINK FROM HEAVEN
A little birdie came to me
And sat upon a rock
He told me he was sent here
From geese among the flock
He stopped to tell me you're okay
That you're in Heaven's Show
Attending to the Gardens there
Whose beauty you bestow
He said you really love it
You feel so young and free
That every day is sunny
And peaceful as can be
He said you're always with me
Much nearer than I think
For if I'd look quite closely
I’d see a birdie wink!
by Betsy McCullen
4/5/2002