Bonnie Byington
June 4, 1937 – February 8, 2023
Our loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, friend and disciple of Jesus Christ passed away on Feb. 8, 2023, at the age of 85.
Bonnie Bell Platt was born June 4, 1937, in Cedar City, Utah, as the second child to Rheabel Butterfield and J. Clair Platt. She had four siblings. She was preceded in death by her grandson, Wyatt Craig Byington, her brother Jay Owen Platt and her sister-in-law Susan Nielson Platt.
Bonnie was a longtime resident of Moses Lake (since 1972). She spent her early years in southern Utah where she grew up during the Depression and World War II, which taught her the value of hard work, sacrifice, and family. When she was 14, her family moved to western Idaho. Bonnie attended New Plymouth High School where she met her husband, Carl Byington. They began dating when she returned home for the summer after attending a year of school at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She married her sweetheart in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple on June 6, 1957. They were blessed to spend 65 years together and raised a family of seven children. She had a firm testimony that her husband and every child born to her would be with her in the next life. She often bore testimony that she did not just believe it, she knew it, and would never doubt that her family would be reunited in the eternities and be together forever.
She was service-oriented and taught her children the importance of serving and hard work. For many years, she was a 4-H leader in both cooking and sewing and sat on a committee for the O'Sullivan Grange. She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all her life and held many teaching and leadership positions. She also shared her musical talents by playing both the piano and organ in church meetings.
She enjoyed filling her time traveling, cooking, quilting, and sewing. Her sewing room was her “happy place,” and she spent many therapeutic hours there during her later years as she battled health problems. She enjoyed sewing dresses for her grandchildren and making quilts, as well as personalized aprons for each of the women in her family, and many of her friends. She was a wonderful example to her family and reveled in her role as a stay-at-home mother.
Bonnie is survived by her husband Carl Byington, of Moses Lake; sons Craig (Nancy) Byington of Rigby, Idaho, Jeffery (Susan) Byington of Moses Lake, Washington, Kevin (Brenna) Byington of Pasco, Washington, Terry (Elizabeth) Byington of Mayfield, Utah and Lael (Heather) Byington of Lacey, Washington; two daughters Sonya (Robert) Shaw of Lehi, Utah and Brenda (Raymond) Wright of Mount Crawford, Virginia; 34 grandchildren; 48 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; her brother Delray Platt; two sisters; Nelda (Erv) Brice and Audrey (Robert) Howard and many loved ones.
A viewing will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Kayser’s Chapel of Memories in Moses Lake. The funeral will be held on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, at 11 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1515 S Division St., Moses Lake, Washington. The family welcomes anyone wishing to pay their respects in a viewing an hour prior to the funeral service. Her interment will follow at the Guarding Angels Cemetery.
Please express your thoughts and memories at www.kayserschapel.com. Arrangements are under the care of Kayser’s Chapel of Memories of Moses Lake, Washington.