Bonita (Bonnie) Lynn Terry

Bonita (Bonnie) Lynn Terry passed from this world on August 17, 2026, after a brief yet courageous struggle with cancer. She was born in Roanoke, Virginia on November 27, 1956 to Luther and Helen (Pollard) Terry.

In the mid-1970s, fascinated with California, Bonnie drove cross-country with a friend to start her life in the Santa Barbara area. She worked for a number of years in the Santa Barbara County Clerk-Recorder’s Office, where she made many lifelong friends. She also worked at Security Title Insurance, Valle Verde Retirement Community, and MAC Design Associates civil engineering.

In 1996, she married her long-time friend, Wayne Gratiot at Sequoia National Park. They enjoyed thirty years of happiness together, each always lighting up at the thought and sight of the other.

Their wedding at Sequoia was emblematic of Bonnie’s love of nature. She and Wayne took numerous trips to Yosemite over the years, and she was an avid gardener, constantly tending to her garden of flowers and succulents.

Bonnie also nurtured her friends, all of whom describe her as a true and loyal friend. And as good as a friend she was, so many of her friends say that she was an even better human being. Her soft greeting of “hey”, as well as her quiet wisdom, occasional irreverence, and contagious laughter are already greatly missed by her family and circle of friends.

Bonnie was preceded in death by her parents, as well as by her brothers Don and Phil. She is survived by her husband, Wayne Gratiot of Santa Barbara, stepchildren Tracy Gratiot Sewell of Soddy-Daisy, TN, Ryan Gratiot of Gillette, WY, and sister-in-law, Sandi Thompson (John) of Moorpark, CA, as well as numerous family members residing on the East Coast.

All of her friends and family will cherish their beautiful memories of Bonnie and her warm and infectious laughter she shared with us over the years.