Visitation and funeral services for Bonnie Ebrite, Age 90 will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 6, 2025, at Smith Chapel Church of Christ, adjoining the cemetery where she will rest between her husband, Joe, and son, Kim. Also nearby are the graves of her mother, grandparents, mother- and father-in-law, and many cousins and beloved friends.
Memorials to the Smith Chapel Cemetery or to the Ozark County Historium are deeply appreciated by Bonnie’s family. Arrangements are under the direction of Clinkingbeard Funeral Home, Gainesville, MO.
Bonnie Ruth Kirkpatrick Ebrite was born July 7, 1934, in a small farmhouse on Caney Creek in rural Ozark County. Her parents were Marvin and Iola Pitchford Kirkpatrick and Bonnie was their only child. She grew up surrounded by beloved grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who lived in the tight knit community of Luna, Mo. She peacefully passed away in Gainesville, Mo on December 1, 2025 at the Gainesville Health Care Center, where she had been a resident for 6 ½ years.
She attended primary grades, first at the Luna school, where she was able to walk to and from the schoolhouse, and then at the Bushong school, where her dad was the teacher. She loved school and excelled in her work, skipping fourth grade entirely; one of the benefits of one-room schools was the students’ ability to learn beyond their grade level.
Bonnie was baptized by her cousin, Doin Pitchford, in the Norfork at Tecumseh when she was about 14, and she was a member of the Gainesville Church of Christ. She graduated from Gainesville High School as third in her Class of 1951. She married Joe Lynn Ebrite that year, and the couple welcomed three children to complete their family: Janet Ruth, Gregory Lynn and Joe Kim. Bonnie was a devoted homemaker and was an active PTA member, always available to help with the children’s and community activities, as well as helping care for her and her husband’s grandparents.
In 1963, Bonnie took a position with the local Welfare Office as a caseworker. After a few years, she was hired by Prosecuting Attorney Clyde Rogers, where she worked for about 10 years, including when he was the Magistrate and Probate Judge.
Joe’s job took the couple to St. Louis in 1976, but they maintained their home in Gainesville and returned to their hometown in 1989 when Joe retired. They then enjoyed a decade of traveling across the United States with the goal of visiting every state, missing only Hawaii and Alaska because of Joe’s health. They first enjoyed a travel trailer and then a motorhome and wintered in Arizona for several years, until Joe could no longer make the trips. After 55 years of marriage, Joe passed away in 2006, and Bonnie made the transition to living alone for the first time in her life.
As well as being a member of the Church of Christ, Bonnie was a 35-year member of Chapter JP of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. After Joe’s passing, she enjoyed regular get-togethers with a group of women who called themselves the Queen Bees. She also loved playing cards on Friday nights with another circle of close friends. The occasional trip to Downstream was a favorite getaway.
Bonnie was a devoted caregiver to her father, her husband and her mother in their last years. She had also taken care of her granddaughter, Jessica, when they lived in St. Louis, and was always available to help others, including her dear friends Elizabeth Rogers and Benton Breeding.
In 2016, Bonnie received the diagnosis she dreaded the most – Alzheimer’s. The “Long Goodbye” was a journey of almost nine years before she passed away on December 1, 2025 at the Gainesville Health Care Center. While living in the Center, she received consistent gentle, loving care. Her family was and is most appreciative of everyone who worked there, from the housekeepers and cooks to the nursing staff and administration. Our community is immensely blessed to have this facility in our small town.
Bonnie Ebrite was predeceased by her husband, Joe Lynn, and her son, Joe Kim, as well as her parents. She is survived by her children: Janet and Stan Taber of Almartha; Greg Ebrite of Gainesville; and daughter-in-law DeAnn Ebrite of Union, Mo. Grandchildren are Matthew Taber, Sarah Taber of Kansas City, and Susannah Taber of Mtn. Home, Ark., Coleman Ebrite of Denver, Colo., Jessica and Kyle Ebrite of St. Louis; Lindsey Housand of Arizona; and step-grandson, Jared Hayes. Great-grandchildren include Emma and Lucinda Jane Knopik, Wyatt, Addie and Ty Alms, and Lindsay’s and Jared’s children.
