Sonja Bosworth of Hamilton, passed away peacefully in her home on October 30, 2024. She was born in 1939 in Auburn, California to Doris (Teagarden) and Rolf Wigaard. Sonja and her brothers, Rolf and Nick, enjoyed their young life as part of a pioneering ski family in the Sierras. Sonja married Bill Bosworth in 1957 and started a family. In 1969 they moved to Tahoe City where they raised their girls. In 1980, they chose the Bitterroot Valley as home.
Many of you may know Sonja as a checker at IGA, selling Viking dogs at the fair with the Sons of Norway, as a league bowler, or quietly attending Al-Anon meetings. Wherever you met her, you got to enjoy our sweet firecracker.
What you may not know is that Sonja also attended Job’s Daughters, was a foster mom to two boys in need, a Camp Fire Girls leader, obtained her Class A drivers license and drove a semi-end dump for two years supporting the family. This experience led her to become the first manager of the Tahoe Area Regional Transit system (TART). Upon moving to Hamilton, she reinvented herself again as a bartender, a cashier, and managed her rental properties.
As a mom, Sonja let her children wildly explore life. She taught them to fish, explore Tahoe in a boat, dig in the gold country for old bottles and insulators, and camp under the stars. She rooted them on in all of their sports and when allowed, blew her cow horn with gusto! That spirit was shared with her children, grandchildren, and her great grandchildren.
Our beloved mom was preceded in death by her parents, brothers, her mentor Janet Miller and her cat Mikey. She is survived by her daughters Barbara (Dave) Mackenstadt and Cheryl (Philip) Whitney; her grandchildren Adrien (Levi) Brown, Stephanie (Ian) Whitney, Erik (Bre) Mackenstadt, and Philip Whitney; her great-grandchildren Gwen, Caden, Brenden, Brooklyn, Christian, Regan, and Brynn; her sisters-in-law, Margaret Wigaard and Carol Van Etten; her nieces and nephews; and besties Kay Bells and Evie Hendrickson.
Please come join family and friends on November 27, 2024 at Daly Leach Chapel at 11:00 a.m. to celebrate her spicy 85 years of life. Condolences may be left for the family at www.dalyleachchapel.com. Skol!