Bonnie R. (Rademaker) Kirgan

Seeds of love, happiness and hope were planted. Now it is time to watch them grow from above.

On Wednesday, April 12, 2017, Mrs. Bonnie Kirgan, 75, was peacefully called home to heaven.  She was surrounded by her loved ones and in the comfort of her home in Milan, Illinois. 

On Tuesday, April 18th we will celebrate her life and passage to everlasting life with Jesus.  Visitation will be from 3 to 5 PM with a Homegoing Celebration led by Reverend Charles Butler at 5 PM.  All services will be held at Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home at 3030, 7th Ave in Rock Island, IL.  Family and friends are invited to gather afterwards at Stoney Creek Inn for food, fellowship and lots of hugs. 

Bonnie loved gardening and her many pets, therefore, in lieu of cut flowers please send potted perennials or contribute to her memorial fund for the Quad City Animal Welfare Center, 724 W. 2nd Avenue, Milan, IL 61264. 

Bonnie was born on July 11, 1941 in Pekin, IL to Earl & Laura Mae Rademaker. She grew up on a farm outside of Emden, Illinois.  As a nursing student at Methodist Hospital in Peoria, she met and later married her Bradley University football star, Larry Kirgan on January 26, 1963. Together they nurtured three children, several grandchildren and many other “kids” of the RI/Milan community.

Throughout her married life, Bonnie worked as a nurse in several settings: Methodist (Peoria) and Lutheran (Moline) Hospitals, Comfort Harbor (Milan) and Oak Glen (Coal Valley) Nursing Homes and with hospice patients in their homes.  Her favorite and most recent job was helping the students of Thomas Jefferson Grade School (Milan) to learn to read. Many students continue to call her Miss Bonnie and remember her filling their bags with donated books so that they “could have their own little library and teach their younger siblings how to read.”

Bonnie is survived by her beloved husband of 54 years, Larry Delbert Kirgan.  She will also be missed by her children; Doug & Lisa Kirgan, Lori & Derrick Anderson, and Benjamin & Lizz Kirgan.  Being a grandma was Bonnie’s most cherished role and she will live on through the lives of her grand & great-grand babies:  The Kirgans – AJ, Kaitlyn, Jake, Schuyler, Lucas, Lilly, Remington & Eliza, the Andersons – DJ, Annika & Dellaney, and the Wenstrups - Korey & Kelly. Bonnie was also blessed with great friends; Duane & Judy Dawson, Corey Williams, Nadia Trice, Mary Jean Ruud, Julio & Carolyn Garcia, “Wally” & True Wahlgren, Janet Groth & the “girls” from nursing school. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, Earl and Laura May Rademaker (Emden, IL), her brother, William Rademaker (Mason City and Emden, IL) and her precious nephew, Kreg Kirgan (Pekin, IL). She also anticipated seeing Great Grandma Kirgan, Grandma Rhoda and all of her lost pets in heaven.

Bonnie loved to read, learn and share her wisdom, watch movies, collect LP’s, travel to the family cabin (reluctantly) and around the country and “putter” in her garden. She enjoyed “treasure hunting” at sales and antique stores and shopping at the farmers markets.  She was a vital part of the Rock Island High School community as a science department volunteer and avid fan of the Lady Rocks.  While she did not belong to a church, Bonnie devoted her life to the work of God; Loving, helping and accepting all of His children. She will be loved and missed by many. With our loss, heaven gained an amazing angel (who will have lots of questions when she gets there!)

Online condolences may be left at wheelanpressly.com.

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