Bonnie Kay Dyer Petree

Bonnie Kay Dyer Petree, nee Little, of Midland, TX, died peacefully at home on February 14, 2026. Known widely for her open heart and open door, her vivid stories and vivacious manner, Bonnie truly never met a stranger. She leaves a legacy of hospitality, generosity and love in Midland.

Born in Abilene, TX to Norman and Dorothy Little, Bonnie came to Midland as a teenager and spent most of the remainder of her long life there. She was married to Irby Dyer III, with whom she had her only daughter, Dee Dee, and who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1966. Bonnie later married Jerry Petree, who was her devoted companion for 38 years.

Bonnie was among an early cohort of flight attendants, working for Braniff and other airlines in the 1960s and 1970s. A short time later, she moved to attending on private jets, accompanying celebrity passengers to Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and befriending many of them. Later in life she employed many of these same gifts to her Nanny Camp tradition, wherein she hosted the children of numerous friends and relatives in her home for two weeks every summer, baking and cooking with them and imparting her trademark wisdom.

Bonnie traveled widely, often in the company of her daughter Dee Dee Dyer and granddaughter Zoe Dyer. She made friends so easily that the group was often entrained into local culture more than a typical tourist’s experience. Her curiosity gave her journalistic view on the world and brought people close. Bonnie’s charisma attracted innumerable deep friendships, and the annual lawn parties she and Jerry hosted gathered many of them to feast on her renowned cooking and attentive hospitality.

Bonnie is survived by her husband Jerry, by her daughter Dee Dee Dyer and her husband Harrison Alter, her stepson Ross and his wife Maggie, and her granddaughter Zoe Dyer and grandsons Franklin and Ben, her sisters Carol McCann, Theresa and Donna, and her brothers Benny Lee and Georgene, and by innumerable beloved members of her chosen family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Hendrick Home for Children of Abilene, https://www.hendrickhome.org.

Arrangements are under the direction of Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home & Crematory of Midland.  Online condolences may be made at www.npwelch.com.

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