Martha Emma (Klindworth) Bonin, 93, of Peoria, Arizona, passed away on Friday, March 20, 2026, at Grandview Terrace Health & Rehab – Skilled Nursing in Sun City West. She was born on September 14, 1932, in the small farming community of Cole Camp, Missouri, the daughter of Theodore Joachim and Anna Sophia (Brauer) Klindworth. She was the youngest of four children. Her mother died when Martha was almost two months old, and she went to live with her maternal grandparents on their farm in Cole Camp. There she enjoyed learning how to ride horses and groom them. Her father, Ted, married Margaret Michaelis in 1940.
In 1947, Martha moved with Ted, Margaret, and her siblings to Sedalia, Missouri. Her first job was working with her older sister Lillie at a downtown drugstore, where they worked behind the soda fountain and ice cream counter.
Martha met George Bonin in Ohio, and on March 3, 1958, they were married by Rev. Kranz in Sedalia at her father’s home. After their wedding, they moved to Warren, Ohio, where Martha helped George raise his four children. In 1960, the family moved to North Kansas City, Missouri, and often visited Martha’s relatives in central Missouri, creating many cherished memories.
In 1975, with the children grown, Martha and George moved to Phoenix (Maryvale). Their Christian faith was strong and active, and they were members of St. Thomas Lutheran Church. Martha was deeply involved in church life, and George was a devoted husband and father. They loved each other dearly. George passed away on June 29, 1982, in Phoenix.
Martha worked for about ten years at Honeywell in north Phoenix on a printed circuit board assembly line. In the early 1990s, she moved to the Sunflower RV Resort in Surprise, settling into a cozy park model home. Around 2012, she moved to her own apartment at an assisted living facility in Peoria, now known as Garden Ridge, where she lived for about thirteen years.
She was an active member of River of Life Lutheran Church in Goodyear, where everyone knew Miss Martha as the warm, smiling greeter who handed out bulletins each Sunday. She loved Jesus, her church, her friends and family, coffee, apple pie, horses, and hummingbirds. Her wit, dry humor, sharp tongue, and hugs were her trademarks.
She is survived by three stepdaughters: Kathleen Peterson (Curtis) of Bothell, Washington; Eileen Plzak of East Hampton, Massachusetts; and Michelle Martin (Ron) of Springfield, Missouri; as well as two grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister Lillie (Klindworth) Bass of Kansas City, Missouri.
She was preceded in death by her husband George; her parents Sophia and Ted; a stepson, Terry; her sister Dora (Klindworth) Kueck; and her brother Walter Klindworth.
Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Brauersville Lutheran Church near Cole Camp with Pastor David Bass officiating. Burial will be in Brauersville Lutheran Cemetery near Cole Camp.
