Bonnibel Adair Lane passed away on March 16 following a short illness. She was 94.

Bonnie, as her friends knew her, was born in Dayton, Ohio to William and Mae Skinner. She came to California as a teenager with her mother and returned to Ohio, where she married and had her first three children: June, Jack and Billy. She returned with her older children to California, where she went to work as a switchboard operator in Berkeley City Hall.

In 1956, while working there, she earned her high school diploma and graduated alongside her oldest daughter, June. She was a member of the El Sobrante writer’s club, the El Sobrante Riders and the California State Horsemen’s Association.

In 1962, she met her soulmate, Frank, on a blind date. They married six months later, moved to Concord and started a family. In 1967, they moved to Brentwood, where she retired to be a stay-at-home mom. She was active in the Brentwood Parents Club and was a member of East County Soroptimist. She took classes at Los Medanos College and became a news correspondent for the Antioch Daily Ledger and the Delta News.

During summers when her children were teenagers, she worked as field manager on the tomato fields. In later years, she became a member of the Victory Baptist Church in Brentwood and was a member of the VFW.

Bonnie was a wonderful person who made many friends. She loved to crochet lap blankets and give them to everyone. She also pursued her love of reading, which she acquired at an early age, and left a small library of books in her home.

She is survived by her children, Bonnibel L. Lane and Franklin (Rick) Lane of Brentwood; brother, James Skinner of Sumter, S.C.; stepchildren, Dwight and Claretta Lane; six grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by husband Frank P. Lane; her parents, William and Mae Skinner; stepmother, Leah Skinner; sister, Jennie Margaret (Skinner) Baptiste; brothers, Frank Arnold and Rodger Skinner; children, June Greenhill, Jack DeLay and William Baughman; and stepson, David Lane.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Bonnie’s honor to Sutter Care Hospice, 4071 Port Chicago Highway in Concord.