5.  Freda Mae Harris

Daughter of Mary and Carl Harris

Freda Mae Harris was born February 12, 1922 in Lawton, Oklahoma.  I don't really know much about her early childhood.  What I remember Nannie (Mary) saying was that Freda was sick a lot as a child.  I'm sure Nannie paid a lot of attention to the problems Freda may have had and protected her.  I have this very pretty picture of Freda and her sister Naomi.  In the picture Freda looks really sweet and pretty.   That is Freda sitting on the left.  I estimate the year to be about 1930 when Freda would have been 8 years old and Naomi would have been 6 years old.

As sisters will do, I remember hearing that Freda and her sister argued and fussed with each other quite a bit.  They look pretty happy with each other in this photo.  Being close in age, I'll bet they were pretty competitive with each other.

Here's another picture with Freda and her sister Naomi.  They are about 16 and 14 and working as car hops at Jimmie O'Donnell's Drive-In on N. E. 23rd Street in Oklahoma City.  The car hops are the girls wearing black slacks and white blouses.  Freda is the second car hop on the right and Naomi is the first one on the left.

I don't recall that Freda worked outside the home when she was older.  Her Social Security Death Index indicates that her Social Security card was issued before 1951.   Freda married Ross (Buddy) Bonner Jr. on June 5, 1946 in El Reno, Oklahoma.  I remember Buddy showing me their marriage certificate.  I have never seen one so pretty.  It was in a pink folding frame and the certificate was specially printed. Freda and Buddy had two sons, Joe and Gary.  Here's a nice picture of the four of them.

 Throughout her life Freda and Buddy were very involved in activities related to the American Legion, the Forty and Eight, the Oklahoma Cerebral Palsy Center and many more.  Freda was very attentive and supportive of her parents, Mary and Carl Harris as they got older.  In fact, after Carl died Mary lived next door to Freda and Buddy.  Freda would take Mary to have her hair done, to the grocery store, to doctor appointments and to visit friends and family.  She was always there for Mary.

Freda died on June 30, 2008 and is buried at Sunnylane Cemetery in Del City, Oklahoma.