Bonnie L Pemberton Schwarck

Bonnie Schwarck Memorial Service video (https://1drv.ms/v/s!AosY60xkZtJUmxlrNXmTk00wT0kQ?e=bWhIrc)

Biography - Bonnie L. Pemberton Schwarck age 86, passed away on Friday, September 1, 2023, in Winter Park, Florida.  A Memorial Service will be held at 1:00 p.m., Sunday, October 8, at the Capital View Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1640 A St., Lincoln, Nebraska.

Bonnie was born on September 13, 1936, in Bayard, Nebraska, to Floyd and Elsie Pemberton.  She spent much of her childhood in the Nebraska Panhandle living near Morrill, Scottsbluff, Minatare, and other western Nebraska towns.  Her family moved to central Nebraska during her teen years.

In high school, Bonnie attended Platte Valley Academy near Shelton, Nebraska.  Here Bonnie enjoyed participating in sports and many campus activities.  She loved playing snare drum in her high school band.  At the age of 16, Bonnie graduated from Platte Valley Academy in 1953 after three years instead of the usual four. 

Bonnie attended Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she met Marvin D. Meeker.  They were married in Grand Island, Nebraska on June 19, 1955.  Together they had four children, Marvin D. Meeker, Jr., Woodrow Meeker, Jeannie (Meeker) Costopoulos, and Jerry Meeker.  They lived in Iowa and California before settling in Lincoln again.  Bonnie returned to Union College and was awarded her Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education in 1970.

In 1973, Bonnie married Roger Hergenrader.  Bonnie and Roger enjoyed taking trips and eventually worked together as truck drivers.  Bonnie loved seeing the many places their truck driving adventures took them.

In 1985, Bonnie married Harold Schwarck.  The adventures continued as Bonnie and Harold traveled in their RV around the U.S.A. and even to Alaska on the Alaska-Canadian Highway.  They also made a trip to Europe.  Bonnie and Harold spent their summers first near Cripple Creek, Colorado, and later Estes Park.  In the winter, they called Apache Junction, Arizona home, and loved to take morning rides across the desert on their motorcycles. 

Bonnie always loved adventure and learning new skills.  She joined a clogging group for awhile, and then taught clogging and line dancing.  She also made quilted jackets for a number of family members and friends.  She had a passion for music that she passed on to her children.  In the early days of the family, the children enjoyed listening to many great composers with albums such as “The Grand Canyon Suite”, “The Moldau”, “The Nutcracker Suite”, and John Philip Sousa, “The Thunderer.”  All the children took piano lessons, and each learned at least one musical instrument as well.  Every church Bonnie attended she could be seen on a Sabbath morning playing the organ or directing the choir.  If a church didn’t have a choir, she started one.  Music was an important part of her life and a vital part of the rich heritage she passed on to her children.

Soon after acquiring her degree from Union College, she took the family to a performance of the Minneapolis Morris Nilsen Boys Choir.  One of the choir boys, Scott Anderson, had an incredible soprano voice, a voice that would soon be lost to adulthood.  Bonnie reached out to Scott’s parents and arranged for Scott to come to Lincoln and spend several weeks recording.  Two albums were produced and Scott had a concert at College View Academy in Lincoln soon after the records came out.  For Bonnie, this was a dream come true and is one of her best accomplishments.

Link to Record 1: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AosY60xkZtJUnFrmuVMRmQH4pQuT?e=3gecyd

Bonnie was a wonderful mother and was always willing to help make her children’s dreams happen.  She gave of herself to bring joy to their lives.  Throughout her life, Bonnie has been concerned for her family’s well-being.  When her children were in need, she provided material and emotional support.  One of those provisions was to make sure her children had a vehicle to drive to school and work.  Her loyalty to her children ran deep and she would always come to their defense, whatever the situation.  Bonnie was always ready to listen to everything her children had to say.  Even near the end of her life, she loved listening to her children share family memories.  She had encouraging words to help keep her children on track.  Bonnie worried about her children, as all mothers do, but still lived her life with joy and passed that joy on to everyone.

Bonnie was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Schwarck, parents, Floyd and Elsie Pemberton, and sister, Loretta Somers.  Survivors include brother, Deryl Pemberton, sons, Marvin D. Meeker, Jr.,  Woodrow Meeker, and Jerry Meeker, daughter, Jeannie Costopoulos, 4 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be designated to the Nebraska Historical Society or to the KS-NE Conference Scholarship Fund.