Remembering Bobbie Lou Bunner: Mother's enthusiasm for life pulled her through trials of living

By: NED RANDOLPH - Staff Writer | Monday, October 2, 2006 8:31 PM PDT ∞

FALLBROOK -- Bobbie Lou Bunner, a loving mother and loyal wife who lost her 10-year-old son to brain cancer and passed up a promotion to follow her husband, died recently at the age of 65.

Bunner, who was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, died from malignant melanoma on Sept. 27. She is remembered by her family for her laugh and enthusiasm for life.

High school sweethearts in Columbus, Ohio, Bobbie Lou Baesman and David Bunner started dating in 1955 at the age of 15. They attended college together at Ohio State University.

"We got married in 1961," said David Bunner, a retired Army colonel and doctor of endocrinology. "We were married 45 years ... too short."

In the Army, the Bunners learned to adapt to new places. At one time or another, they lived in Fresno, Del Mar, Leucadia, Fallbrook, Frederick, Md. and Olympia, Wash.

With a bachelor's degree in education from Ohio State, Bobbie Lou Bunner was working as a research analyst for the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center, studying medical defenses against biological warfare.

Then, duty called.

"For better or worse, she reached her peak when I got transferred, and had to pass up her promotion," David Bunner said.

The couple was transferred to Olympia, where she volunteered for the state prison system. David Bunner retired from the Army and became a consulting internist at the prison.

Family members said Bunner was an independent woman ahead of her time.

She loved parties, cooking, reading, playing bridge, sewing, gardening, traveling, her dogs and most of all, her family.

The Bunners lost their 10-year-old son Joel to a malignant brain tumor in 1976. They raised two more children, one a psychiatrist in San Diego, the other a school teacher who lives on the family farm in Ohio.

Bobbie Lou Bunner is survived by her brothers, Richard Baesman Jr. and his wife Ruthann of Ohio, and William Baesman and his wife Nancy of Colorado; her two children, Kelly Transue and her husband Gary of Ohio, and Scott Bunner and his wife Bethany of California; and five grandchildren.

A 3 p.m. memorial service will be held today at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 1620 S. Stagecoach Lane, Fallbrook. A reception will follow at the Bunner residence at 1419 McDonald Road, Fallbrook.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Fallbrook Hospice, 624 E. Elder Street, Fallbrook, CA 92028.

-- Contact staff writer Ned Randolph at (760) 761-4411 or nrandolph@nctimes.com.