Meet Dutilh Preschool’s New Teaching Assistant, Bonnie Bender

-Published, September 2022

Bonnie Bender may be new to Dutilh Preschool, but she is not new to childcare. A mother and grandmother, Bonnie has operated a daycare in her home and most recently worked at the now-closed Vision Childcare, Mars.

Bonnie says that, not unlike the children under her care, she often “gets butterflies” at the start of a new childcare adventure. “But, then the kids come in and I start making connections,” she says with a smile. A Dutilh member, she is looking forward to forming relationships with the children and families of Dutilh Preschool.

“I want to show them the light of Christ,” Bonnie said. “I want to show them the love of God. I feel it is my mission.”

Bonnie gave her heart to Jesus when she was 13 years old. She said that, as in the writing of Methodism founder John Wesley, her heart was “strangely warmed” as she pursued Christ through Bible study and church attendance.

Her strong faith has stayed with her through countless moves and personal events. Bonnie grew up in Springfield, VA, but lived in Coraopolis from age three to seven.

“The cool thing is that both sides of my family are deeply entrenched in Western Pennsylvania,” she said. Coming back to the area in December 2017 — she and her husband of 40 years, Charlie, live in New Sewickley Township — “felt like moving home.”

Bonnie is a graduate of Radford University in Radford, VA, where she majored in German and minored in French and business. She worked in the business realm for six years and married Charlie on July 24, 1982. After they had Sam in 1989 and Hannah in 1991, Bonnie began watching a neighbor child. That’s when she had the idea to become licensed and open her own daycare, which she ran for nine years.

Bonnie and Charlie have spent much of the last 40 years moving around for his work. They have made their home in Connecticut, then South Bend, IN, and the Chicago suburbs, back to Connecticut, followed by Saline, MI, and Morganton, NC, before coming to Pittsburgh in 2017.

Interestingly, Bonnie almost forgot to mention that she is a two-time breast cancer survivor or what she likes to term, “thriver.” She had unrelated breast cancer events in 2008 and 2012. “I don’t think about it anymore, but it is truly by the grace of God that I am a thriver!” she said.

In her free time, Bonnie likes to visit her children and grandchildren and she loves to crochet. She is active in Dutilh’s Quilts & More group. “The more complicated the pattern, the happier I am,” she said. She also has helped facilitate women’s retreats and has served as a liturgist. She loves reading to adults and children.

We are excited to see how Bonnie connects and thrives at Dutilh Preschool. To find out more about Dutilh Preschool, visit https://dutilhchurch.org/dutilh-preschool-1.