Bonnie (Anderson) Rawlings
198 Military Road
Helena AR 72342-3601
870.338.3156
As all of you know, I married Buddy Rawlings right out of high school. We lived for a couple of
months with my parents at the corner of 7th and Garland where I grew up. Then we moved out
to Texas. Buddy had several jobs in Texas. We were in a town between Fort Worth and Dallas.
Our first and second daughters, Debbie and Gay Lynn, were born in Texas. We stayed out there
just a little over two years.
We came back to West Helena. Buddy went to work for the Webb Meat Packing Company.
After awhile he got a job with Texas Eastern Company which later sold out to Duke Energy.
Buddy retired from Duke Energy in 1999.
Our third daughter, Allison, and our son, David, both were then born after we came back to
Helena-West Helena. Debbie, my oldest, has three children. Gay Lynn married Daryl Clubb, a
policeman in Clarksville. She has one daughter. Our third daughter, Allison, married Sid
Hawkins, son of Buzz Hawkins. They live in Dover, Arkansas. She has two children. My last
child, David lives in Clarksville, Arkansas. He has two sons. I have 11 great grandchildren.
We lived in West Helena until 1975, when both our youngest children were still in high school.
Then we moved to this property we had on Military Road. Buddy retired in 1999 and
unfortunately died two years later in July 2001.
In addition to bearing our four children, I have worked any number of jobs through the years.
My first job was at Joiner's Handy Dandy. It was on the corner of 4th and Plaza. Then I worked
at Kroger a couple of years. For a while I worked for the West Helena School System, at
DeSoto. I was then a receptionist at Phillips College for 7 years. I started taking some college
courses while I was out there. I was in my 30s. I continued on and got a Bachelor's degree in
Early Childhood Development from Arkansas State University. After I got my degree, I went to
work for ASU. That was my last job. I was the field trainer for their early childhood program. I
had a territory with a 100 mile radious and was on the move. I worked for them for 13 years. I
would say I retired about 1996 or 1997.
My main hobby now is gardening and my flowers. I have really gotten into my flowers. I also
have found comfort in my church Right at this time, early March of 2006, I am spending a lot of
time with my mother, who has Parkinson's disease. I'm with her most of my waking hours right
through this stretch. So I'm keeping up her flowers too. She is still at our home, the yellow
house on the corner of N 7th Street and Garland Ave. in West Helena.
I am looking forward to the reunion. I will be glad to see all of you again.