August 21, 1931 ~ April 17, 2017

Bonnie Lee Paulsen was born in Oakland, CA on Aug 21, 1931. She was a fourth generation Californian, the only daughter of a Danish immigrant and his American wife. She soared to new horizons on April 17, 2017 just after Easter visits from close friends and family in her beloved Lake Tahoe home.

Bonnie was raised in Antioch, California until the age of 18 when she met and married her soul mate of 46 years, Asa Milton Seymour, the late founder of the Truckee River Bank in Truckee, California. Bonnie obtained her private pilots certificate in 1967 flying out of San Jose Reid Hillview Airport. In 1968 she joined the Ninety-Nines, an International Organization of Women Pilots.

Bonnie was a graduate of San Jose State College with a Master of Arts in Education in 1971. She became a licensed Speech Pathologist and taught special education for 22 years in the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District.

In 1976, Bonnie founded the Lake Tahoe Chapter of the Ninety-Nines where she was voted Woman Pilot of the Year multiple times. In 1976, Bonnie and her youngest daughter, Linda, flew the 29th and final Power Puff Derby from Sacramento to Wilmington, Delaware. They were one of the very few mother/daughter flying teams to participate and finish the race. In 1992, Bonnie produced and directed an information video about the Ninety-Nine’s Scholarship Program called, “Soaring to New Heights”.

Bonnie was preceded in death by her parents Leah and Theodor Paulsen, her son, Dennis Seymour, her husband, Milt Seymour. She is survived by her daughters and sons in law, Cindy and Gregg Bashford of Truckee, CA, and Linda Seymour and Wayne Cowie of Carlsbad, Ca – and her grandchildren Laura Cowie, Sarah Cowie, Bodyn Bashford and Dylan Bashford. A celebration of Bonnie’s Life will be held at a later date with notices to her flying friends, family and teaching community. Remembrances may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation – Ninety-Nines Scholarship Foundation – Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation –