11/21/2002

By ABE ESTIMADA, kgw.com Staff

Bonnie Whitherall’s heart was always huge.

As a junior high teen-ager, she went to the streets to help homeless people. Later, while working as a manager at a local McDonald’s, she began a prayer group.

The group was more than she bargained for.

“The prayer groups became counseling sessions,” said Bonnie Whitherall’s older sister, Cheryl Newell, of Portland. “There were women who were single parents, women divorced and having problems, and she decided that we all needed to pray about this.”

A higher calling to do more than simply talk about her faith took her to Sidon, Lebanon nearly two years ago. Until her last days, before she was found murdered at the doorstep of a Christian chapel and clinic where she worked, Bonnie Whitherall never stopped giving.

Cheryl Newell talks about her younger sister, Bonnie Whitherall. (KGW Photo)

“It wasn’t just her. It was the Lord. She had a real personal relationship with God.”

Newell last heard from her younger sister earlier this week via e-mail. She wrote that her husband, Gary Whitherall, was excited to find a group of men to play soccer with. They spoke no English, forcing Gary to learn the native language in Lebanon.

Newell said her sister was excited that Gary found friends. But Bonnie remained passionate about her work, which was aiding Palestinian refugees in southern Lebanon.

“She believed that in her heart that God wanted her in that place, doing whatever He called her to do and that was basically to share her life with people,” Newell said. “It was hard for her to walk by people who were suffering.”

Bonnie loved to cook, liked to drink coffee and cozy up with a book. She was partial to sports but played the guitar and watched movies.

Newell heard about her sister’s death from their father, who resides in northern Washington, at 1 a.m. Thursday. Earlier that night, the U.S. ambassador phoned their father to inform him about Bonnie’s death.

Bonnie Whitherall, left, and Gary Whitherall, right. (KGW Photo)

Following the Sept. 11 attacks, the Whitheralls called the U.S. Embassy to inquire about what they needed to do to protect themselves.

The Whitheralls were vigilant, but never left Lebanon. They figured it was just as safe as other countries in the world, Newell said.

The couple was never threatened at any time, Newell said.

In fact, the friends they made in Lebanon made it a point to tell their father about six months ago via computer teleconference that the Whitheralls were protected, Newell said.

“She had so many friends and so many people who surrounded her,” Newell said. “She said they would protect her protect and loved Gary. They just grew to have a huge family there with people they had developed relationships with.”

“They wanted to make sure that our family knew they loved Bonnie and Gary.”

Newell could not say which Christian ministry Bonnie worked for. The U.S. ambassador had specifically told her family that was not to be disclosed in order to protect other missionaries.

As Newell spoke to a kgw.com reporter on Thursday afternoon, Gary was on a plane back from Lebanon. With him was his wife’s body.

Newell has no anger towards her sister’s murderer. The overwhelming sense of loss is what remains, tempered somewhat by the sweet memories her younger sister.

“When things like this happen, the people she’s connected to feel her loss,” Newell said. “But gosh, she loved her life there. How many people can say that, even if they live to be 100-years-old in a safe place? I would think she thought it was worth it.”