CLAFLIN — Billie Bonomo is the definitive teacher, truly a lifelong learner. She never wavers from her strongest personal philosophy and daily ambition in life.

“I believe in paying it forward,” she said. “I have had tremendous help over the years from other people, I have been involved in education as a student or in other ways for over 80 years. I take art classes at Barton Community College. I teach sewing classes. Then the fruits of my labor go to various organizations. I have done stuff for Clara Barton Hospital. I still do a lot of stuff for Beaver Volunteer Fire Department, and also for the Kansas Children’s League, making stuff for them. I am actively involved in Pilot for four years and make stuff for (that) community service organization,” Bonomo said.

She is at the Independence Township Library in Claflin most Wednesday mornings to assist young sewing students seeking help for advice on different techniques in the quilting process and selection of colors for purposes of fabrics.

She’s also on the Barton County planning and zoning commission.

“So I do keep very busy and that is one piece of advice to widows – keep busy; find things to keep busy and enjoy doing them because life is too short,” she said.

New Mexico roots

Her roots are not in Kansas, but rather New Mexico.

After graduating from Sandia High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1967 with a B.S. in biology, history and education. Later she took courses from Brown University in Rhode Island, and in California she took courses from Grossmont Junior College and Cuyamaca Junior College, where she earned an associate degree in drafting. In 1977 she got a Masters in Education from San Diego State University in 1977.

Bonomo has one son and one daughter, three grandsons, two great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter. Her husband Robert Bonomo died in 2012 to a rare form of blood cancer. A Navy chief electronics technician, he served his country for 22 years of active duty service before his military retirement in 1988.

“After my husband retired from the Navy, he then got his teaching license through San Diego State University. He already had a degree in physics and math before entering the Navy. Since we had relatives in Kansas, we often visited there. Actually, my husband moved to Kansas in 1997, but I stayed in California for four more years to finish my work there. I moved to Kansas in 2001 and joined my husband, who was already teaching here,” she said. During those intervening four years of living in separate states, the couple often visited back and forth and kept their relationship strong.

“I was married for 45 years. My advice for widows is this – take and learn what needs to be done before you come to that point when your spouse passes,” she said.

She was a backstage drama queen of sorts for many years, working on productions in California and elsewhere. There were plenty of crazy times on a production stage when she was called upon to make things happen.

“I did design and made costumes for plays,” she said. “I was even working sets when I was younger, and I would paint them. I mean I would actually paint the sets, and sometimes it got a little hairy, because when you are on a 16-foot high ladder painting and they shut the lights off on you, then wow!” 

Teaching career

“Education is in my blood, ” she said of a teaching history that spans more than five decades. “I have taught school in Rhode Island while my husband was in the Navy. I did my student teaching in New Mexico. I taught in California, in the San Diego area, which was for high school and junior high grades 7 through 12, for 30 years.

“I came back to Kansas and taught as a substitute teacher for Great Bend, Claflin and Hoisington, and I did that for about 20 years. I am still teaching now, but not as a substitute teacher anymore. I just teach classes for different skills; for instance, I teach sewing, especially for quilt-making, at rural libraries.” She is a member of the Twisted Stitchers sewing group in Claflin.

She is not afraid to work with people from all age groups.

“If you can cross-age a group, then all the groups benefit from that experience,” she said.

“I taught a class with students from 9 to 11 years old this summer at Independence Township Library,” she said. “One of my students just took off and went bonkers with the sewing machine. She never touched a sewing machine before, but she had a blast, and she was only 9 years old. This same 9-year-old student I taught later made a quilt she entered for a 4-H fair and won a blue ribbon for it.”

Paintings

Bonomo enjoys painting and is a member of Artists at Large in Great Bend. Her work can be seen at the Artists and Large display at the Great Bend Public Library through Oct. 31. There will be an exhibit reception from 2-4 p.m. this Saturday.

She also has two small oil paintings on display at Barton Community College’s Shafer Gallery, as part of the Barton County Arts Council’s Friends and Acquaintances exhibit that runs through Nov. 3.

This past week, her work was included in the three-day Russell Original Art Review (R.O.A.R.) held at the 4-H Building on the Russell County Fairgrounds.

Looking ahead

An ageless philosophy works for her.

“You naturally slow down because of your age, but I don’t resign myself to old age – I go out and work in my husband’s wood shop occasionally,” she said. 

“Be true to yourself,” she said confidently. “I am just a simple person with a simple life. I believe in taking one day at a time; I’m generous with my time and my abilities, and I prioritize a lot.”

Community Connections is a weekly feature of the Great Bend Tribune, showcasing people who live in the Golden Belt. We welcome readers to submit names of individuals who are active in the community that they would like to see featured in a future story. Send suggestions to news@gbtribune.com and explain their “community connections.”