Bonnie's Story

Early Life

Bonnie was born in Seattle, Washington July 25, 1949, the middle child of 3 girls born to John Bustinduy and Nadine Mae Edens Bustinduy. She was raised in Ballard and then moved to Shoreline where she attended Shoreline High School, graduating in 1967. Bonnie found her talent in interior design early and went to interior design and architectural school, where she graduated with a degree in Interior Design and Drafting. While attending design school she also held down a job as a bank teller and auditor. She worked as a designer but found that designing for customers was not her cup of tea. She used to tell stories of designing homes, and then the owners would bring in some piece of furniture that did not fit throwing the whole space out of balance! This frustration led her to stay with the bank where her people skills and smile accelerated her quickly but found that bank wages were not competitive. Although her father, who was a lifelong employee of Western Electric, advised her to stay at the bank, the strong-willed Bonnie went looking and obtained a job at the first Nordstrom in downtown Seattle in the ‘women’s slipper department”, in fact, she was the first woman hired as a shoe salesman. Back then, Bruce Nordstrom walked around and personally handed each employee their paycheck. Naturally, she was very successful and although she said that she dreamed of being “An Elevator Girl” that never materialized. She really wanted to design and in the late 1970s, she designed and built a house with her husband Jim Glenn where they lived in Maltby, Wa. 

Ben is Born!

In 1980 Bonnie and her husband Jim Glenn adopted their son Benjamin (Ben) Glenn at 3 days old. Raising Ben was a joy, and she was the type of mother that only fed Ben the best, she made her own baby food and later in life would not give him candy or pop of any kind. She and Jim ran a service station in Seattle and spent weekends with the Glenn family on Lake Marcell. To supplement their income, Bonnie went to work in the dental industry as an office manager. She was excellent at organizing patient loads, scheduling, and office management as well as computer technology.  Bonnie worked for the same dental office for many years and became a Datacon Dental software platform expert.

California Days

In the mid-1980’s she and Jim separated, and Bonnie and Ben moved to Northern California where she immediately obtained a position as a dental office manager, eventually she became a sales rep and trainer for Datacon and covered the entire northern half of California which she traveled, sold, implemented, and trained entire dental offices. The owner of Datacon was known to have said she was the only person who could sell and implement on the same day! Her training and support skills were better than most of the technical support staff. Her sparkling blue eyes, amazing smile, and warm people skills contributed to her notoriety in the dental industry She decided traveling so much did not fit with raising a child, so she settled down in Fairfield California, and went back to managing dental offices. She remained close friends with Jim, and he also moved to Northern California, where they shared raising Ben. Eventually, Bonnie moved to Napa, where she became the office manager for a dental practice in St. Helena and also took up wholesaling automobiles. Throughout this whole time, Bonnie’s design and decorating skills were utilized in her own homes, each was immaculately decorated and designed. She loved the style of what we might call “Rustic French Country Chic” or such.

Love Strikes Again

It was while she was in Napa that she met her future husband, Don Rowles, in 1994. They met through some mutual friends at a chamber of commerce function, she was good friends with the women who were employed at the same CPA firm that employed Don as a CPA. They had a splendid time in Napa with their group of friends, dancing, wine tasting and enjoying great food. 

Relocates Family to Challis

In 1995, she and Don decided to buy some property where they could live and raise Ben and Don’s four kids who decided to live with them. They took a trip to Challis, Idaho where Don’s parents, Grid and Betty Rowles, lived. Bonnie fell in love with Challis instantly and often told the story that after coming to Challis for the first time and after meeting his parents, said “I don’t know where our relationship is going but I am going to move in with your mom and dad”. She felt she found her real home, she always loved being a “Country Girl”, and loved kids, horses, and all animals. She was well known for saying that Don’s four kids were a bonus. She loved them as any other mother would. She and Don ended up buying the historic Penwell Mansion, and in the early summer of 1996 they moved to Challis with the kids, no jobs, and no money. Don consulted and eventually was hired as the Administration Manager at Thompson Creek Mining Co. Over the years, Bonnie’s kindness, smiles, generosity, and hard work became her persona and legacy in Challis. She single-handedly became the self-proclaimed Weed Wacker around town, it was not uncommon for her to go around for hours and weed wack sidewalks, driveways, and vacant lots. She just wanted always to make things more beautiful. She loved the natural resources and ranching and farming. She led several movements, even to court battles, to protect the City of Challis watershed and then had a major role in the development of the Water Protection Plan for the City. She and Don completely restored the Penwell Mansion so that it would stand for “another hundred years”. They turned it into a bed and breakfast, The Benjamin Inn, which she decorated along with four other properties and ran them all as “The Inn” for several years. Her decorating talents were not unnoticed; she was published in the Idaho Statesman, Western Home Journal, and Sun Valley Magazine. Her reputation as a host and decorator attracted some well-known artists, singers, and songwriters. Her attention to detail was unsurpassed. Sheets and pillowcases were pressed perfectly, and breakfasts were served with items like crisscrossed bacon, homemade jams, and biscuits all served in beautiful baskets to the front doors of her guests, dinners were plated and served with only the best fish and meat and vegetables on tables that were decorated with amazing creativity and care. She loved doing these things to make the guests feel special and it also fed her creative juices.
Bonnie grew close to many friends in Challis and the community. She was always there helping and promoting other people’s efforts and the community. On her 50th birthday, she and Don went to one of the many auctions to benefit someone else where Bonnie was well known to the auctioneer to buy something after bidding the price up. It was at the auction on her 50th birthday that Don bought her a young filly horse, Bonnie’s first horse, Pretty Girl, which she loved and cared for in the Penwell Mansion yard for a year before acquiring some horse property. Later, she would go on to adopt several more horses which were unwanted or disabled and about to be put down and she would care for these horses until they died. She had this belief and characteristic where she placed great value on other people and their situations, which is why she was known to be so generous with her time, care, and money. When they would go to an art show or a festival, she was known always to pay full price and even known sometimes to pay more for items as she felt the other person’s value was important. Her father taught her and her siblings to respect other people and their properties. They were not allowed to walk across lawns but to stay on the sidewalk and when admiring something that did not belong to them, like an automobile, she was not allowed to touch it. She made a conscious effort to teach these same principles of respect for other people to her kids and family.
Over the nearly 16 years of owning the Inn, she raised three boys there and also took in a few other boys that needed a place to live temporarily or some for over a year. During summers and holidays, their two girls would come and spend time in Challis. She taught the boys how to mow lawns but would not let them because she loved it so much, she loved the way they looked, perfectly lined and groomed. She always said that is one reason she loved the countryside and vineyards, with all the rows and fences perfectly lined up. To this day, she was very reluctant to have anyone else mow her yards. 

The Ranch

They sold the Inn and moved to their current home on Rod and Gun Club Road. She has always called it “The Ranch” but knew the real ranchers in the valley chuckled at their 8 acres, even so, over the years she has used her creativity and design talents to turn the house, yard and gardens into an amazing home and sanctuary. She loved being at home and in Challis and mowing her lawns and others’ as well. Bonnie has survived four bouts with cancer and came through cancer free and then she developed heart issues which she also met with tenacity, strength, and determination. Her doctors always marveled at her chart and were amazed at her generally good health considering all that she had gone through. One doctor even referred to her as a cat with nine lives. During their 3-year hiatus from Challis, in Colorado, Bonnie built and designed and decorated yet another home and developed friendships with so many people there. Bonnie loved hosting friends, family, and many events at the ranch always with care and attention to detail no matter the occasion. She would work for hours in advance to make sure everything was perfect for the family or individuals she was hosting, to make sure they felt special and to show that she valued them a great deal as individuals.
Bonnie died on February 25th in her home that she loved, in the valley that she loved. Within hours, many friends and family came forward to show support and caring and to offer food and service in any way to Don and Ben. She is survived by her husband Don and her son Ben Glenn, Morgan and Kayla Johns of Challis. Also, by two sisters, Linda Montoya of New Era, MI and Sandra Barnes in Woodinville, WA. Her niece Kim and husband Jeff Hooker of Muskegon, MI; Her four other children, Alison Heglund, Royce Rowles, Lindsey Patti, and Roger Rowles and their families. The entire Rowles siblings and their families plus many, many other friends and family from across the land from Hawaii to Arkansas and the east coast. 

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