Sharon Evelyn Bonham, née Cates, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 26, 2026, at the age of 96.

She was born in Wichita, Kansas, to Dwight Spencer Cates and Evelyn Margaret Roark Cates. She grew up there and developed an early love of horses — one of her fondest memories was a summer spent as a teenager riding through the Flint Hills — and went on to compete as a show jumper. After high school she earned a bachelor’s degree from Wichita State University, where she was a member of Delta Gamma sorority. She was then employed by Albert Repecka, Vice President of Exploration for the Anadarko Production Company of Panhandle Eastern.

Sharon had a zest for adventure. Her love of travel carried her through the middle of a civil war in Guatemala by train, and out of Central America as a hitchhiker aboard a boat. She learned to scuba dive in Mexico, at a time when the only requirement was the ability to hold your breath and dive down thirty feet. She enjoyed camping, boating, and snow skiing — but most of all she enjoyed being around family.

She met Clarke Arrendell Bonham in 1957 on a blind date. They married four years later, on June 3, 1961, and shared 57 years together. They settled in Shawnee, Oklahoma, where Sharon would remain for the rest of her life. She was a member of the Hawthorne Club and a charter member of the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art. She and Clarke shared a love of dogs, and he accompanied her to shows throughout the Southwest, where they showed their beloved Corgis.

Sharon was preceded in death by her parents, Spencer and Evelyn; her husband, Clarke; her daughter, Nancy Ellen Bonham-Ownbey (Tim); and her Corgis — Duchess, Duke, Megee, and Cinnamon.

She is survived by her son, Clark Andrew (Andy) Bonham (Elizabeth) of Kansas City; eight grandchildren: Clark Andrew (Drew) Bonham, Jr. (Marlene) of Tucson, AZ; Thomas Adam Bonham of Los Angeles, CA; Spencer Aidan Bonham of Oklahoma City, OK; Sydney Alexandra Bonham-Knutson (Daniel) of Oklahoma City, OK; Taryn Anne Bonham of Kurtistown, HI; Millicent Marie Ownbey-Hale (Kendall) of Oklahoma City, OK; Joshua Ownbey of Oklahoma City, OK; and Aly Ownbey-Land of Albuquerque, NM; and five great-grandchildren: Clark Andrew III, Antonella Sofia, Merritt Patrice, James Clarke, and Lewis Brian.

One of her favorite poems in the twilight of her life was Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep.

Do not stand by my grave, and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep— I am the thousand winds that blow I am the diamond glints in snow I am the sunlight on ripened grain, I am the gentle, autumn rain. As you awake with morning's hush, I am the swift, up-flinging rush Of quiet birds in circling flight, I am the day transcending night. Do not stand By my grave, and cry— I am not there, I did not die.

— Clare Harner, The Gypsy, December 1934

She will be dearly missed.

A Celebration of Sharon’s life will be scheduled in the near future. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to Children’s Mercy Hospital https://www.childrensmercy.org/ways-to-give/

or the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art https://mgmoa.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donate-6