Bonnie Vest Gilchrist
Bonnie Vest Gilchrist, 95, of Montgomery, Alabama, passed away June 27, 2024. Bonnie was born on April 8, 1929, in Hartselle, Alabama, to Wesley and Lurline Vest. In 1945, she married her high school sweetheart, Claude Bush Gilchrist. They had two children, Bush Anderson Gilchrist and Claudia Jeannine Gilchrist (Renfroe). In the mid 1950s, the young Gilchrist family relocated to Montgomery. Bonnie spent much of the next 40 years working in the retail furniture business, first for the family’s store, Town & Country Interiors, and later for Rhodes Furniture, Fordham’s Fine Furnishings and Heirloom Reproductions.
Bonnie’s life’s work, though, was the love and care of her family. She was a beloved Nana to her grandchildren, Wes Gilchrist (Inge), Allison Crumpton and Bonnie Folmar (Blake), and nine great grandchildren, Bowen Gilchrist, Jack Gilchrist, Caroline Gilchrist, Everett Gilchrist, Bonnie Gilchrist, Mary Drew Crumpton, Emilie Crumpton, Sellers Folmar, and Collins Folmar who all loved her very much and will miss her greatly.
The family will hold a private memorial service in her honor. Donations can be made in memory of Bonnie to the Alabama Wildlife Center located in Oak Mountain State Park, Pelham, Alabama.
