Bonnie Barnett was a hardworking woman who lived a modest life in Fort Dodge. Few knew that she worked two jobs to save a little money before she died last fall at age 80. Now, the large donations she left in her will are being donated to several organizations. Barnett donated more than $530,000 to Iowa Central Community College, which will use the money to create a scholarship named after her. This donation, along with donations to the local YWCA, Trinity Health Foundation, Domestic Sexual Abuse Support Center, Iowa Central Animal Protection Society, and Boy Scouts of America Troop 8, totaled more than $1.3 million. Jesse Ulrich, president of Iowa Central, said he was amazed by Barnett’s generosity, saying, “We are really blessed to receive this donation.” “Bonnie was well known in our community, and I remember her working the cash register at the grocery store. She was a really sweet person.” Iowa Central was close to Barnett. She was a student there from 1961 to 1962. She also worked in dining services, providing meals to the campus community. Fort Dodge library leaders are still deciding what to do with the donation, which is more than $130,000. “We received some books, and we thought if Bonnie was still alive, we would have loaned these books out,” said Rita Schmidt, director of the Fort Dodge Public Library. “We would have called her and said, ‘Bonnie, this book is for you.'” Bonnie was known as a hard worker, often working two jobs at a time. Attorney Mark Crimmins, executor of Burnett’s estate, said she likely saved almost all the money she made. “She worked as a waitress at Starlight Village, probably for 30 or 40 years. I know some cash was found in her house, and it must have been tips that she saved,” he said. “And she put it towards investing and didn’t spend any of it.” Get the latest news from KCCI » To get the latest news on the go, download the free KCCI app: Apple | Google Play
FORT DODGE, Iowa —
Bonnie Burnett was a hard-working woman who lived a modest life in Fort Dodge. Few people knew that before her death last fall at age 80, she worked two jobs to make ends meet.
Several organizations are currently benefiting from the generous donations she left in her will.
Burnett has donated more than $530,000 to Iowa Central Community College, which will use the money to create a scholarship in her name, and her donations to the local YWCA, Trinity Health Foundation, Domestic Sexual Abuse Support Center, the Humane Society of Central Iowa and Troop 8 of the Boy Scouts of America have totaled more than $1.3 million.
Iowa Central University President Jesse Ulrich said he was astonished by Barnett’s generosity.
“We are so blessed to receive this gift,” he said. “Bonnie was well known in our community and I remember her working as a cashier at the grocery store. She was such a kind person.”
Iowa Central University was close to home for Barnett, as she was a student there from 1961 to 1962. She also worked in dining services, providing meals to the campus community.
Fort Dodge Library leaders are still deciding what to do with the more than $130,000 in donations.
“We received a few books and we thought, if Bonnie were still alive, these are the kinds of books she would have borrowed,” said Rita Schmidt, director of the Fort Dodge Public Library. “We would have called her and said, ‘Hey Bonnie, we have this book for you.’
Bonnie is described as a hard worker who often works two jobs at once.
Mark Crimmins, a lawyer representing Ms Barnett’s estate, said she appeared to have saved almost all of the money she earned.
“She worked as a waitress at Starlight Village for about 30 or 40 years. I know they found cash in her house, it must have been tips that she had saved,” he said, “and she invested it and never spent any of it.”
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