Former Reston Resident Bonnie Ann Burroughs Dies

RESTON, VA — Bonnie Ann Burroughs of Naples, Florida, formerly of Reston, passed away in the early morning hours of March 17, 2023. Bonnie was a creative, entertaining and generous friend, artist, mother and grandmother.

Bonnie studied fine arts at the Layton School of Art (now known as the Milwaukee Art Institute) and the University of Wisconsin. Her first job was in the 1960s as an illustrator for Gibson Greeting Card Co in Cincinnati, Ohio

In 1978, after watching two companies she worked for fold, she launched Innovative Projects, Inc. in the basement of her Vienna, Virginia home. Through the next 40 years, she grew her business to progressively larger spaces and eventually supported a staff of seven designers.

In the summer of 2016, Bonnie had a series of "Circle of Willis" strokes. Even though this caused her speech to be affected at times, she continued to work and live life to the fullest. Bonnie finally decided to sell her Reston condo to leave the cold winters she hated behind, and bought a condo in Naples. Before she could move in, a series of very unfortunate events occurred, including the flooding and destruction of her new condo and a diagnosis of melanoma after many years of sun-worshipping.

Bonnie was an extremely strong and stubborn woman, and she survived both of those extreme challenges. She rebuilt her condo and was free from cancer after major surgery to remove all the lymph nodes in her right arm.

Her absolute determination to succeed in life, which provides many entertaining true stories, and sometimes frustrations for her family, is what gave her extra years of life when she was diagnosed with incurable cancer going on four years ago. In the end Bonnie's cause of death remains unknown.

She leaves behind her two daughters, Sonja Wilder and Sarah Uttech Flanagan, along with Sarah's husband, Liam Flanagan, four grandchildren Rachel, Erica, Erin and Kellen, her sister, Mary and Mary's husband Ed Hermann, and many good friends she held on to for decades. A memorial will be held at her daughter's house in Centreville on April 20.