Bonnie Allen Chambless
Bonnie Allen Chambless, 78, of Pampa and Horseshoe Bay, died April 5, 2011, in Austin surrounded by family and friends after a long battle with cancer. She was born in Motley County on Nov. 21, 1932.
She will be remembered for the way she would light up a room with her laugh, her wonderful outlook on life and her caring nature for others. She was a dedicated animal lover and provided a safe home for a colony of feral cats in Horseshoe Bay.
Overcoming the adversities of growing up during the Depression and Dust Bowl, she was an accomplished artist and sculptor who studied under Leon Polk Smith, Louise Nevelson and Dord Fitz and had exhibits in New York City, Oklahoma and Texas.
An avid genealogist who was a fifth-generation Texan and could trace her ancestors to 1611 in England, she was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and past member of the Pampa Fine Arts Association.
She was active in the Presbyterian church in Pampa. She served on the board of Hospice of Pampa and was instrumental in the initial organization of the hospice program there. Hospice later served her well in her illness, and she was grateful for that early training.
She enjoyed traveling, and she made trips to Australia, New Zealand, London and Italy, as well throughout the United States by motor home. She had wonderful memories of traveling with family and friends to Colorado and New Mexico on many occasions.
She was fond of saying everything happens in divine order, and so it was with her life. She was touched with extraordinary gifts in this life, both artistic and spiritual, and her family and friends celebrate the time she was with them.
Survivors include her husband Bill Chambless of Austin; daughter Tammy Chambless of Dallas and son David Chambless of Phoenix.
A service is 11 a.m. April 7 in Longhorn Village, 12501 Longhorn Parkway in Austin. A celebration of life service is 11 a.m. April 8 at the Church at Horseshoe Bay, 600 Hi Ridge in Horseshoe Bay.
Memorials may be made to Hospice Austin, 4107 Spicewood Springs Road, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78759, www.hospiceaustin.org; BSA Hospice of Pampa, 800 N. Sumner, Pampa, TX 78657; or the Church at Horseshoe Bay, P.O. Box 8295, Horseshoe Bay, TX 78657.
A guest register may be signed at www.putnamfunerals.com.
Cremation arrangements by Putnam Funeral Home, 145 Texas Ave., Kingsland, (325) 388-0008.