View Memorial Service

Margaret "Bonnie" Briggs, 98 died Tuesday September 29, 2020 at the Village at White River Junction with her daughter Betsy and niece Karin Bonnett by her side.

She was born Margaret Anna Bonnett on August 15, 1922, in Mary Hitchcock Hospital, the younger daughter of Frank and Rose Wilcox Bonnett. She attended a one-room school on River Road in Lyme, NH where she was raised on a small farm with her sister Marion and brother Bob. She graduated from Thetford Academy in the class of 1940 where she was elected Class President and where she met her eventual husband "Freddie" Briggs.

After a year at UNH she transferred with two others named Margaret to the Peter Bent Brigham School of Nursing in Boston, MA moving on to become an RN out of the class of 1944. Her mates nicknamed her "Bonnie" and she enjoyed that for the rest of her life.

She was married to Frederick M. Briggs October 31, 1944 in Orford, NH. She traveled alone by rail twice across the US during the World War II years. The first time after saying goodbye to new husband Fred in Bremerton Washington as he returned to duty in the south Pacific and then on the way to San Francisco to welcome him home to America. The young couple immediately embraced their new life which would be full of hard work and optimism. Bonnie worked as a nurse at Mary Hitchcock and the VA while Fred worked at Tip Top Bakery and Verham News. In 1948 with young son David and new daughter Dianne they became proud homeowners on Maple Street in White River Jct. Fred and Elwin Phillips formed a business partnership to operate an Esso service station in downtown WRJ on the site destined to become named Fred Briggs Park. In those early years Fred and Bonnie also ran the Neo Restaurant in Fairlee in the summer and Ski Altow a rope tow in Norwich in the winter. In 1952 the partners opened Briggs & Phillps Army-Navy Store in White River Jct. Bonnie worked part time as a nurse while having daughter Betsy in 1953 and son Jack in 1957.

Later, after Mr. Phillips left the business, Fred and Bonnie operated the store together and changed the name to Briggs, Ltd.  She added a classic women's wear department. In 1972 they purchased the Gates Block and embarked on a major renovation including elevator service and central air conditioning to restore office rentals on the upper floors. Over time in what had been the upper level of the JJ Newberry Company they accommodated the evolution of River City Arts and the White River Theatre Festival who renamed the space in their honor as the Briggs Opera House. Eventually she provided a favorable lease to Northern Stage and helped to incubate it on to the Barrette Center.

In 1992, upon the death of Fred, Bonnie became the sole proprietor of the Gates Block as well as Briggs Ltd. She operated the store for ten more years alone until 2002 when she turned 80. She continued to operate the Gates-Briggs Building until after 2012 the year she turned 90. In recent years she continued to approve of and lend guidance to operations in the building including the Newberry Market project where she cut the ribbon and also to a vision for permanence of the Briggs Opera House as a community arts center. For her involvement with and support of the arts she enjoyed a set of lifetime season passes to Northern Stage and was thoroughly gratified by the stream of community productions in the Briggs Opera House. She especially enjoyed supporting and attending events like River City Christmas, First Fridays and Revolution's Night at the Oscars as her downtown neighborhood finally began to blossom.

Bonnie was active and helped husband Fred make their young family into a skiing family, which included season tickets at the Dartmouth Skiway from its very beginning, and later on as a member of memorable group ski trips to Loon Mountain. She and Fred along with the Flanagan and Baribeau families eventually hiked into all 8 AMC huts in the White Mountains twice over. On her 89 th birthday she made her final foray by hiking unaided up the 1200 vertical feet to stay at Lonesome Lake with children, grandchildren and a great grandson. But she conceded that golf was her biggest joy. She began golfing at age 50 with Fred becoming a perennial member at Lake Morey, an enthusiastic participant in State Day and playing past the age of 90.

Her community service began as a Den Mother and she brought that special impact in support of both her sons and the sons of the neighborhood. Mrs. Briggs was a member of the White River Methodist Church, the Chamber of Commerce, a past president of the Loyal Club where she helped gain approval for a new program called the Young Mother's Club. Eventually her leadership within the Loyal Club helped encourage the Good Neighbor Health Clinic. She was also an early supporter and volunteer at the Upper Valley Haven. Behind the scenes Bonnie always sustained a quiet commitment to calling on one or more friends at a time who had become older or less fortunate with their health. She was a charter member of the Hartford Garden Friends and enjoyed working in the dirt with Mikel Beckley on the gardens near the Windsor County Courthouse as her part.

She was predeceased by a daughter, Dianne Marion, in 1967, her husband, Fred, in 1992, grandson Samuel John Briggs in 2008, her brother Robert Bonnett and sister Marion Tyler, as well as lifelong neighborhood friends Theresa "Tessie" Baribeau and Mary Ellen Flanagan.

She leaves a daughter Betsy B. Wheeler and husband Don of Woodstock, VT and two sons Jack F. Briggs and wife Lynn of Roseville, MN and David C. Briggs and wife Peggy of White River Jct., 5 grandchildren - Jens Danielson of Copenhagen, Denmark, Ben Briggs of Rochester, NY, Ethan Briggs of Fort Worth TX, Dianne Zenowich of Boston, MA and Tim Wheeler of Salt Lake City, UT, along with 11 great grandchildren and nieces and nephews with their children including her sports-fan buddy Frank Bonnett of East Thetford, VT.

A funeral and memorial service will be celebrated Saturday October 17 th at 1:00 pm in the serene setting of the Jericho District in the meadow at the intersection of Jericho Street and Wallace Road. Persons attending are advised to bring their own lawn chair.

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Good Neighbor Health Clinic or the Hartford Garden Friends or the We The People Theater Company.