Bonnie âJeanâ Rodenbeck, 98, died Dec. 2, 2020.
She was born Jan. 23, 1922 in Topeka, Kansas, and was adopted by Henry and Fern Wilson of Colby, Kansas at the age of five.
She traveled by train to Colby by herself to meet her new family for the first time.
She graduated from Colby High School in 1939 with Francis Rodenbeck, who enlisted in the Army Air Corps before Pearl Harbor.
She visited him with his parents and his brother before he was deployed overseas for 2½ years.Â
He asked for her hand in marriage and the couple were married Dec. 22, 1941 in front of the Methodist pastorâs Christmas tree at the parsonage.