Bonnie (Klassen) Royer

Bonnie Royer, age 91, of Newton, Kansas, died on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at the Kansas Christian Home in Newton, Kansas.

She was born August 12, 1932 in Inman, Kansas, the only child of Johann "John" Casey Klassen and his wife, Zenora (Handtke).  She graduated from Inman High School and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Bethel College to begin her career as a registered nurse.

On September 23, 1956, she married Gary Royer from Newton, Kansas.

Bonnie started her career as a register nurse working at the Bethel Deaconess Hospital in Newton, Kansas.   She met her husband, Gary, at the hospital while caring for Gary’s father.  After marrying Gary, she relocated with him to both Hawaii and California while he served in the Navy.  While in California, she continued her career as a nurse working with an oral surgeon.

Upon returning to Newton, Kansas, she was the clinical instructor at the Bethel Deaconess Hospital supervising the “Fundamentals of Nursing” curriculum where she developed a new method for teaching nurses that required students to become a “patient for a day” and cared for by their classmates.  Her new curriculum was acknowledged as innovative by the Kansas State Nurses Association.

After starting a family, Bonnie decided to focus on raising her two sons.  However, she regularly completed “continuing education” classes to keep her RN license active for many years.  She also regularly worked with the Red Cross Blood Donation organization to assist with blood donations at the various school and church locations over the years.

She is a charter member of the Trinity Heights United Methodist church in Newton, Kansas.  In her later years, she enjoyed spending time with family and friends as well as traveling across the United States by car with her husband, Gary.

She is survived by her two sons, Kelly Royer, North Newton, Kansas, and Cory Royer, Cape Coral, Florida, with his daughter, Dianna Royer and her mother, Jessica Royer, living in Kansas City, Missouri. She has one surviving sister-in-law, Wanda Warhurst-Royer (wife of Keith Royer) and many precious nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Gary Royer and her husband’s five brothers: Leonard (Catherine) Royer, Kenneth (Marion) Royer, Gaylon (Mickey) Royer, Keith Royer, Max (Helen) Royer along with her husband’s four sisters: Evelyn (Bill) Lawrence, Betty (Earl) Smith, Helen (Ted) Welborn and Doreen (Bob) Lietzke.

“Celebration of Life” service will be held at Trinity Heights United Methodist Church at 1:30pm in Newton, Kansas on Saturday, April 27^th.

In Lieu of flowers and per family request, please make memorials to the Trinity Heights Respite Care for families of children with special needs or to a memorial of your choice.