Bonnie April Ward

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Bonnie April (Bailey) Ward of Soapstone Mines, Cape Breton. She passed away peacefully on Saturday morning, October 18, 2025 at Alderwood Rest Home in Baddeck, NS, where she had resided since 2019. Bonnie was born April 1, 1950, to Lewis Charles Bailey and Barbara Alice (Bloom) Bailey of Junction City, Oregon.

Bonnie studied at Willamette University and the University of Oregon, from which she earned a degree in education. She moved to Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia ca. 1970. Bonnie was active in 4-H in her youth and was throughout her life a curious and avid reader. She was a gifted, dedicated, and generous crafter, giving many beautiful and thoughtful cross-stitch pieces along with a wide variety of other craft creations to family and friends. Bonnie deeply loved her five grandchildren and delighted in the opportunities she had to be with them.

Bonnie is survived by her daughters Faith Dodd (husband Dave Williams) of Sydney, NS, Miranda Dodd of Cheticamp, NS, and Alicia Ward, of Dryden, ON; grandchildren Najim and Sinclair, Jeremy and Jasmine, and Bell; her brother Fredrick Scott Bailey (Blair) of Ann Arbor, Michigan; nephew Justin Slocum Bailey and niece Erin Luden Bailey; sister-in-law Mary Crane (Richard), and brothers-in-law Gerald Ward (Margaret Rose), Daniel Ward (Barbara), and Malcolm Ward. She was predeceased by her loving husband Gordon Frank Ward, parents, sisters Twinette Bailey and Alice Louise Bailey, sister-in-law Gwyneth Slocum Bailey, father- and mother-in-law Percy and Jessie Ward, and brothers-in-law John, Walter, Frank, and Percy Ward.

We are grateful that most immediate family members could say farewell to her during Bonnie’s final days and we thank the staff of Alderwood Rest Home for their compassionate care of Bonnie during her final days. In her final months she expressed peace in her relationship with God, embracing the sacrificial love and care of Jesus Christ, with hope for the life to come. Thus, though we grieve, “it is not as those who do not have hope.”