Bonnie Sue Harris-Keen

Our hearts are broken as we share that our sweet, strong, stubborn, loving, hilarious, and fiercely devoted Grandma Bonnie Sue Harris Keen, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 13th. She was surrounded by the love and presence of family as she took her final breath. 

She was 82, though if you asked her, she’d probably pretend not to hear you and say age is just a number anyway.

Momma, Aunt Bonnie Sue, Grandma, G and GG all names she was given through the years by family and friends who loved and cherished her. 

Bonnie was born in Arkansas and was raised with grit & the Lord in her bones, on January 5, 1964 Bonnie arrived in California in her early 20s, eventually making her home in Carson and later Riverside. But no matter where she lived, home was wherever she was.

She was the kind of woman who never asked for help, but always showed up when you needed her. If she loved you (and chances are, she did), she made sure you knew it. Her hugs could fix bad days. Her advice was equal parts comfort and sass. She was warm like a Sunday morning, tough like a freight train, and loyal like nothing you’ve ever seen.

She was the proud mother of Angela Andrus, John Harris Jr., and Sandra Thayer, and though she only gave birth to three kids, she somehow managed to mother everyone she met. She had a heart big enough to carry an entire generation, and then some.

She was preceded in death by her husbands John Harris Sr. and Lewis Keen, her son John Harris Jr, her parents Thomas and Alta Penix and ten siblings. 

She leaves behind her two daughters, three step daughters, one step son, and one brother. As well as many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and a whole community of family and friends who don’t quite know how to breathe without her yet. But we’ll try. For her.

Because that’s what she did — she kept going. Even when it was hard. Even when she was tired. Even when no one said thank you. She just kept going.

To know her was to be loved. To be spoiled, prayed for, and told the truth whether you liked it or not. Her legacy is one of unconditional love, relentless loyalty, and a kind of strength that feels almost mythical now that she’s gone.

We’ll miss her forever. But we’ll carry her in the way we love, in the way we show up for each other, and in every story that starts with “Remember when Grandma…”

Love you forever, Momma, Grandma.

You were our safe place.

And you always will be.

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