In Memoriam
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IN MEMORIAM
We have been enriched by the lives of so many talented and creative women throughout the years, but unfortunately, some of these amazing women have passed on. Here we share their words, and their talent. May they be a light for all women and the spark of creativity for all time.
Ann Bonner
Anne Bonner (Letters), a member of the Cape Canaveral Branch of NLAPW for 13 years, passed away in early December 2023. She was an active and supportive member of the Cape Canaveral branch and will be sorely missed. A fifth generation Floridian, Anne was proud of her heritage and spoke often of her father, Judge William Akridge, who was Mayor of Cocoa, a state representative, and a circuit court judge for 20 years. Her maternal grandfather was the first dentist in Melbourne.
Anne attended the University of Florida, where she was a majorette with the Fightin’ Gators band and a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. In the 1950’s, she met her future husband Otis Bonner, a student at the University of Georgia, on Cocoa Beach. After making her debut in Orlando, Anne married Otis, who became an Air Force fighter pilot and retired as a Colonel after 26 years of service. Having lived all over the world as an Air Force wife, Anne considered the Philippine Islands and Hawaii her favorite places. She learned Asian cooking, oil painting, cake decorating, snow skiing, and played lots of bridge when she was not involved with her children.
No matter where Anne traveled, she was always reading and writing, and poetry was her first love. She was a member of the Florida State Poets Association, Inc., National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Cape Canaveral Chapter of the National League of the American Pen Women, Florida Historical Society, the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation, the Cape Canaveral Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and was a former board member of the Space Coast Writers’ Guild. Her poetry often reflected her mischievous sense of humor:
Memory was excellent,
addresses, telephone numbers
distant relatives, new friends;
old age settling in,
brain shrinking or runneth over;
no longer storing words not used every day.
useless information in this information age.
Just would like to remember where the car is parked,
(or where the car keys are.)
Anne wrote ten books in ten years: five historical fiction books for young adults set in the wilds of early Florida during the chaotic time of the Civil War, and five historical love stories for adult readers, set in Florida (of course). Anne especially enjoyed dressing in period costume and presenting programs to fourth graders in local elementary schools. Anne and her grandson Shaun appeared in a TV documentary about the Canaveral lighthouse and port.
Betty Prisendorf
Betty Prisendorf (Letters), a loving wife, mother, and friend, passed away in October, 2023 at the age of 88.
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Betty was a graduate of IRCC Nursing School and received her BS from St Joseph’s College of Maine. A retired registered nurse, she was one of the pioneers of Hospice in Florida.
A lover of the arts, Betty was a voracious reader and began writing after being inspired by a high school English teacher who said "never stop writing." She wrote poetry, plays and short stories. In 2008, she was named Senior Poet Laureate of Florida. With her poem Last Letters, she won second place and publication in Women's Voices of the 21st Century, sponsored by Greenwich Pen Women. Her poem Third Planet From the Sun won first place. A resident of Merritt Island, Betty was a member of many organizations including Newcomers of Brevard County, Playwrights Workshop, The Red Hat Society, The Humane Society, National League of American Pen Women, The Space Coast Poetry Club, Florida State Poetry Club, and The Academy of American Poets. She volunteered with Hospice and was a member of UU Friendship Fellowship church.
JoAnna O'Keefe
JoAnna O’Keefe (Letters), a poet, author, inspirational speaker, and cherished member of the Cape Canaveral Branch, passed away after a short illness on December 8, 2022.Those who knew her will remember her compassionate spirit, which she expressed in hundreds of poems composed over several decades.
JoAnna was an engaged citizen throughout her life, beginning with running fundraising events for the USO during the Viet Nam war. A graduate of Syracuse University in New York, JoAnna brought to her poems the accumulated experience of studies at the Pecos Benedictine Monastery School for Spiritual Directors, near Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Northern Arizona Hospice Program; the Dale Carnegie Course; studies in contemplative prayer at the Benedictine Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado, and the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She studied Christian spirituality and the psychology of C. G. Jung at the Einsiedein Conference in Switzerland.
JoAnna’s spiritual journey to writing began with two profound losses. Her father’s death left her in the depths of sorrow and took her to Florida to seek solace. She lived in a cottage by the sea with her husband Jack, her high school sweetheart, and their son and daughter. Then the murder of a lifelong friend left her bereft and paralyzed with grief. She spent days sitting on the beach, adrift with the pain of suddenly losing two people she loved dearly.
That pain brought a new birth—JoAnna’s emergence as a poet. In 1988, she went on a pilgrimage in Yugoslavia shortly before war came to the Balkans. There, in a crowded church in a tiny village where miracles happened, she prayed to write a poem about peace. Back in the sanctuary of her home in Florida, she poured out her heart and feelings in poetry that later became her now-classic poem, Come to the Garden which was read at the 51st National Prayer breakfast in Washington, D.C.
JoAnna went on to write compelling poems that have been published and read by officials in Washington, DC, incorporated into the commissioning of a U.S. Navy ship, and awarded many other blue-ribbon accolades and honors. She is the author of five books of poetry. One of her proudest accomplishments is her patriotic poem turned into song, America at the Crossroads, released in December 2014. Dedicated to the American people, the song was performed by the Brevard Symphony Orchestra at their annual July 4th Concert in Cocoa, Florida.
JoAnna was a 2016 recipient of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge National Award: George Washington Honor Medal. Her work was read into the Congressional Record on May 4, 2017. In April 2018, JoAnna received the President’s Prestigious Pen Woman Award, for Distinguished Achievement in Poetry.
Catherine Margaret Rayburn
The Cape Canaveral Florida branch is sad to report that Catherine Margaret Rayburn, a 35-year Letters member of the Cape Canaveral Pen Women, and daughter of our founder Elaine Murray Stone, passed away on May 25, 2022 at the age of 77.
Cathy’s adventurous life began in New York City. She graduated from the University of Florida and received a masters degree from the University of Massachusetts. Cathy’s first job was with NASA, where she typed countdowns for the Gemini Program. She later secured a research job with Dr. Suigard Norman MD at the University of Florida Medical School, and three years later was a member of the faculty. Cathy traveled extensively in Europe and attended an international meeting of the Reticular Endothelial Association in Freiberg, Germany. At the medical school, Dr. Robert L. Rayburn wooed and then married her, and they had three children.
Most of Cathy’s life centered on science: She worked at NASA; engaged in medical research at the University of Massachusetts, University of Florida, Baylor University, and University of Utah; and wrote many papers for scientific journals. At Florida she studied food poisoning in the Department of Pathology, research which led to a new glaucoma drug, and at Baylor, Cathy worked with Dr. DeBakey, the famed heart surgeon. At the University of Utah, she used an atomic absorption machine to study formulas and mother’s milk.
Back in Florida, Cathy edited her mother’s last ten books and collaborated on her last book, Angels in the Bible, published by Paulis Press. Since joining the Cape Canaveral Pen Women in 1987, she has served as president, vice president, and secretary. She also worked three jobs during this time: teaching Anatomy/Physiology and Biology/Chemistry at Eastern State College, designing homes for Mike Malone Construction, and working as a travel agent with the Morris Travel Agency.
Ima J. Pastula, Ph.D
It is with heavy hearts that the Cape Canaveral Branch reports the passing of Ima J. Pastula, Ph.D (Art & Letters), on April 2 2022 at the age of 88. Ima was a cherished and very active member of our branch for many years. We will miss not only her considerable talents, but also her generosity of spirit and mischievous sense of humor.
Ima spent her teens in Bend, Oregon. After she married, she lived in Europe where she studied oil painting under two fine European Master Artists in Augsburg, Germany. She received her doctorate, but instead of opening a private practice, she decided to teach and subsequently became an adjunct faculty teacher at a local Maryland college where she shared her knowledge of Mind Management, Personal Dynamics, and Motivational Studies with new art students.
Ima also opened “Studio One” where she taught many eager art students. She had decades of experience as a painting instructor, including seven years teaching at The Henegar Center for the Arts in Melbourne, Florida. Ima designed her own cover art and is the author of many books; six of which are currently available at Amazon.com: Le Mot Juste–Telling It Like It Is; Tattetales, A European Trilogy; Tosha’s Journey, Rape Of The Sensuals; and Portals That Be. Ima also authored 53 short stories which are available for Kindle Fire.
Ima was the 2012 - 2014 President of the Cape Canaveral Branch, Vice President 2014-2016, and Secretary 2017-2020.