Bonnie Casillas

Bonnie Lee CasillasBRServices for Bonnie Lee Casillas, 62, of GeorgetownKilleen will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Harper-Talasek Funeral Home in Killeen. Burial will follow at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Nolanville. Mrs. Casillas died Dec. 16, 2009. BRBRShe was born in October 1947 at Fort Sam Houston. She was a loving and caring person who will be dearly missed by all her family and many friends. She was raised in Killeen and attended Killeen public schools. She was working as a carhop at Chess's drive-in where she met her first husband, Lantz Ray Danser, a soldier at Fort Hood. After stations at Alabama and Hawaii, they returned to Fort Hood where Ray returned to civilian life. Their son, Lonnie, was born in July 1967. As their marriage failed, Bonnie and Lonnie returned to San Antonio. It was there she met and married Mario Casillas. They had a son, Jamey, in October 1977. BRBRWhen Mario suffered a debilitating stroke, she and her two sons were forced to sell their home and move back with her family in Killeen to afford nursing care for Mario. She was a dedicated school bus driver for Killeen Independent School District, which continued after Mario's death in 1981 until she became disabled in 1996. Diagnosed with a rare disease known as polymyositis and given only seven years to live, Mrs. Casillas was determined to prove doctors wrong. She lived another 14 years. BRBRShe loved children dearly and she enjoyed social activities and loved meeting new people and sharing stories. She also enjoyed bingo and crossword puzzles. Everyone whom she met was touched by her love, kindness and strength of will. BRBRSurvivors include a sister, Geneva Buice-Schmidt of Auburn, Ga.; five brothers, Benny J. Buice of Nolanville, Jackie L. Peirce of Beaumont, Jackie Buice of Bakerfield, Calif., A. Lee Buice of Chester, Ga., and Steven D. Bruice of Auburn, Ga.; four grandchildren, Cody Titus, Michelle Titus, Amber Danser and Maximus Casillas; and two great-grandchildren: Chevelle Calhoun and Stevie Solis. BRBRShe was preceded in death by her grandmother, Winnie Meachum; her mother, Winnie Babey; her father, Charles Walter Buice; her sister, Naomi Wells-Hall and her great-granddaughter, Brianna Calhoun. A very special thank you to all the people who cared for her at Scott White Hospitals in Round Rock and Temple, and to all the people at Park Place Care Center in Georgetown. BRBRVisitation is from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Harper-Talasek Funeral Home in Killeen. BRBR

Visitation

HarperTalasek Chapel
506 N. 38th Street
Killeen, TX  76543
Friday, December 18, 2009
5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M.

Service

Funeral Service

HarperTalasek Funeral Home
506 N 38th St
Killeen, TX  76543
Saturday, December 19, 2009
1:00 P.M.

Cemetery

Pleasant Hill CemeteryH
Cemetery Road
Nolanville, TX  76559