Lucy Bonney Varney Reger, age 91, of Tinton Falls, passed away in her sleep
Jan. 21, 2023. The youngest of two children, she was raised in Broken Bow, Nebraska, during the Depression.
The daughter of the town banker and an Army captain, she loved to ride horses and read. Being a youngster thirsty for knowledge, she headed off to Emma Willard Prep School in Troy, New York for high school. College called her to the opposite coast: Mills College in Oakland, California. Living on the coast brought all sorts of new adventures but transportation before the war was difficult over long distances, so she finished up her Bachelor of Science at the University of Nebraska, graduating with highest honors – Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi (science honorary) – and as a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Bonney double-majored in chemistry and biology. Go Big Red!
Bonney’s first job was working as a bacteriologist at Parke-Davis (now Pfizer) in Detroit, Michigan. While it was unusual at the time for women to pursue advanced degrees, her love of learning drew her to the University of Michigan to earn a Master of Science in bacteriology. It will not surprise you to hear that she was a rabid U of M football fan from that time onward.
It was at this time that she met her husband-to-be, Paul Reger. They married after she graduated and lived in Grosse Pointe Park and then Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, raising a family of five children over the next 25 years.
A desire to live on the ocean and be “on vacation every day” brought her to Rumson where Bonney became president of the local Newcomers Club, president of the Little Silver Garden Club, a founding member of the Friends of Monmouth Museum, and a communicant of Holy Cross Church, Rumson. Downsizing took her to Oceanport and then ultimately to Seabrook Village in Tinton Falls. At Seabrook, Bonney made many dear friends where she was a founding member of the LGBT organization.
While a world traveler from a young age, at age 70 she asked her friends, “Do you think I am too old to become an avid world traveler?” The answer was a resounding NO and off she went, for the next 20 years, sometimes making three trips abroad per year. She had no issues with trying to sleep upright in a coach seat if it would take her to a new location and culture. A wall-sized world map hung in her home with pins marking all the places in the world she visited. There are over 100 pins.
She visited each of the seven continents, crossing that off her bucket list early on. She would fly around the U.S. several times each year, visiting all her children and their families. She knew everyone’s birthday and anniversary and remembered minute details about each individual. She was as sharp as a tack and as energetic as could be until the end. She loved deeply and was deeply loved. She will be missed by all.
Bonney is survived by her five children and their spouses, Priscilla Watts and Terry Hoeft of Milford, Michigan, Jeff and Dena Reger of Shrewsbury, Gretchen Dobie of Winnetka, Illinois, Jamie and Chris Vukelich of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Drew and Gina Reger of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina; by her grandchildren, Jonathon, Chris, Brandon, Jamie, Ryan, Danny, J.D., Will, Will, Nick, Alec, Lee, Elizabeth, Daniel, Andrew, and Jack; and her 11 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, please take a trip somewhere and make a toast to Bonney or donate to Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, or The Center in Asbury Park.
A memorial mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 18 in the auditorium at Seabrook Village, Tinton Falls. Thompson Memorial Home of Red Bank has been entrusted with the arrangements.
The article originally appeared in the March 2 – 8, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
