Bonnie Jean Ogram Callison

Cedar Rapids, Iowa BONNIE JEAN OGRAM CALLISON Bonnie Jean Ogram Callsion, 51, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa,and formerly of Andover, Ohio, died on Thursday, November 24, 2005, at her home after living with pancreatic/duodenal cancer for 20 months. She is survived by her husband, Gary C. "Butch" Callison; one son, Toby Knapp of Fort Collins, Colorado; a step-daughter, Heather (Christopher) Horoschak of South Orange, NJ; and 2 step-sons, Brett (Jeni) Callison and Joe Callison, both of Ames, Iowa. Bonnie also has four adorable grandchildren and never passed up a chance to read to them. She is also survived by her mother, Clare "Sis" Ogram of Andover, OH; two sisters, Carol (Larry) Loveland and Wendy Hathy of Andover,OH; two brothers, Michael (Marilyn) Ogram of Andover, OH, and Robert Ogram of Cortland, OH; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father, Jesse Wilson Ogram. Bonnie earned her BA degree in communications and education at Youngstown State University and her MA degree in English from Bowling Green State University. She also did Doctoral work in human resource development at the University of Minnesota. She taught English and writing at the high school and college levels and worked as a training and development consultant for the 3M Company and Norwest. After growing up in Andover ,Ohio, Bonnie lived in Northern Italy, Ohio, Minnesota, Colorado, and Iowa. A long time book lover whose first real job was at the Andover Public Library, she owned and operated Train of Thought Books. The last two years she has been employed by Kirkwood Community College, first as a grant writer and then as Director of Agrowknowledge, the National Center for Agriscience and Technology Education. Her greatest passion came from writing. Both a fiction and non-fiction writer, she took great pride in completing one novel and working halfway through her second. Combining her knowledge and skills in writing and teaching, she also offered local and regional writing workshops. Other hobbies included wood carving, reading, gardening, biking, cross country skiing, fishing, canoeing, camping, cooking, and baking. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the Andover First United Methodist Church on Saturday, December 3, 2005 at 11 A.M. with Rev. Peter Elencovf officiating. Family will receive friends to pay tribute to and celebrate the life of Bonnie from 10 A.M. until the time of service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the family to be donated to the Kirkwood Community College Scholarship Fund or the Andover Public Library to be used solely for children's books and young adult books. Baumgardner Funeral Home, 134 Prospect St., Andover, Ohio handled the arrangements. Guestbook available at www.baumgardnerfuneralhome.com

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