Bonny McGowan Honoring Bonny McGowan

Thank you so much for being a part of this journey with Bonny. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, September 23rd on Ribera Beach in Carmel, CA. Please refer to the journal entries on this site for updated and complete information about participating in an honoring of this incredible woman.


In May Bonny received the hard news that her breast cancer had returned and metastasized into her bones (Stage 4). She began treatment with hormone therapy in late May and on Tuesday, June 20th, received her second treatment.

That Friday Bonny was not feeling well and stayed home in bed. In the morning, she fainted in her bathroom but was conscious and could piece together what had happened with Richard. They spoke with her oncologist and agreed that she should take it easy and if she needed to get out of bed, she was to crawl to prevent another fall.

In the afternoon sometime after 2pm, she got up and went into the kitchen where she likely fainted again from the medication she was taking and sustained a traumatic head injury when she hit the hard wood floor. She was breathing but unresponsive when Richard found her and has been in a coma since.

She was taken to the ICU at Natividad Hospital in Salinas where a fantastic neurosurgeon cleared the blood clots and installed drainage tubes to bring down the bleeding and swelling. During the fall and likely due to the cancer in her bones, she fractured one of her cervical vertebrae (C2) resulting in a broken neck. While in the hospital, Bonny had a massive stroke, which complicated her recovery and prevented her from improving enough to resume chemotherapy. We brought her home after three weeks in the hospital and after three weeks surrounded by friends, family and incredible hospice care, she passed in the comfort of her own beautiful home just before dawn on August 5th. 

We are so grateful for the care, concern and support of Bonny's friends and family. Thank you to everyone who has supported us in countless ways through this deeply difficult time. 

Thanks and lots of love to you all xox
Sarah & Richard