Eleanor Croyle “Bonnie” Dunkle, 80, of Sarasota, Florida, passed away peacefully on September 20, 2022, with her family by her side.
Bonnie was born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, to W. Roy Croyle and Alberta Mae Seger “Bertie” Croyle. She attended Captain Jack High School in Mt. Union, Pennsylvania, where she was a cheerleader, the newspaper editor, and an active member of the music department.
After high school, Bonnie was accepted by the E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company in their academic stenographic program in Wilmington, Delaware, where she developed her considerable skills in organization, typing, and note-taking. She enjoyed playing bridge with her YWCA roommates and was active in the local Underwater Diving Club (SCUBA). After completing the program, Bonnie secured a position within the DuPont Company in Wilmington, where she also sang in the choir at Grace United Methodist Church and there met and eventually married William F. “Bill” Dunkle, III. They moved several times before settling in Marianna, Florida, in 1973.
In Marianna, Bonnie held a variety of jobs, but the bulk of her work was done at WTYS radio station, where she served as accountant and disc jockey. Marianna is where Bonnie raised her two daughters, which led her to volunteer with Sybil’s Dance Academy, providing seamstress services at recital time, and to attend nearly every MMS and MHS football game and production to watch her daughters perform with the band and chorus. Bonnie’s giving nature was apparent in the many ways she served her community, as exemplified by the Thanksgiving meals she prepared and hosted for the Chipola College basketball players and the costumes she created for many of the Chipola College dramatic and musical productions.
Bonnie’s talent, experience, and skills were keys to her long and successful career as a legal secretary, which she began in Marianna at Griffith and Griffith, and continued after her move to Tallahassee in 1985 at Haben, Parker, Skelding, Costigan, McVoy & Labasky. Bonnie concluded her career in 2010 after twenty years at Hopping Green & Sams PA, in Tallahassee, where she was highly regarded for her superior service, litigation support skills, efficiency, and professionalism.
In retirement, Bonnie found her next fulfilling undertaking as a volunteer at Montford Middle School in Tallahassee, where she supported the chorus program in myriad ways, including costume and set design and working with students in preparation for productions. She assisted with several student productions, including Beauty and the Beast and Annie, among others, and was honored as the school’s Volunteer of the Year twice and as a Leon County Schools Volunteer of the Year in 2013 for her tremendous contributions.
In 2015, Bonnie relocated to Sarasota, where she continued her volunteer work by serving as a pianist and study hall monitor at Prew Academy. She spent much of her free time at home creating beautiful garden beds and logging hour after hour on her John Deere mower in a seemingly endless effort to keep the yard neatly manicured. She greatly enjoyed attending musicals and other shows at the Van Wezel.
Bonnie was predeceased by her parents; her brother Richard W. “Dick” Croyle, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and her husband, William Frederick Dunkle, III, of Marianna. She is survived by two daughters, Carolyn D. “Carrie” Perry (Tom), of Sarasota, and Beth Dunkle Dietzen (Leonard), of Tallahassee; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; brother Wayne R. Croyle (Barbara), of Zelienople, Pennsylvania; sisters-in-law, Kathy Hastings Croyle of Lancaster and Zillah Beth Fossum (Scott) of Marianna; and several nieces and nephews.
A service to celebrate Bonnie’s life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Bonnie’s memory by donating to the Wounded Warrior Project (
https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/donate), a charity which was important to her, or to Tidewell Hospice (
https://tidewellfoundation.org), which was essential to Bonnie and her family at the end of her life.