Bonnie Gipson

Bonnie Zell Ivey Gipson entered eternal rest on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in San Antonio, Texas. She was born on June 19, 1941, in Woodsboro, Texas, to Jim Ivey Sr. and Georgia Lott Ivey. She was one of 11 children. Bonnie accepted Christ at an early age at New Light Baptist Church in Woodsboro, Texas. She attended Woodsboro High School. She married William Ray Hutchinson, and two children were born to their union: Bonnie Venice and Marcellus Ray Hutchinson She later married Deacon Efren Calvin Gipson Sr., with whom she shared nearly 53 years of marriage until his passing in March 2020. They made their home in Refugio, Texas, where they were members of St. Luke Baptist Church. Efren was ordained a deacon in 1978, and Bonnie joined the Ministers’ and Deacons’ Wives.

After relocating to San Antonio, they joined Lilly of the Valley Baptist Church, where Bonnie was a faithful and active member. She continued with the Ministers’ and Deacons’ Wives, worked with the church youth through the youth department, and regularly attended Sunday school. She earned her Texas nurse aide certification in 1990 and worked in the medical field in and around San Antonio.

She loved sports. If a game was on, she was watching, no matter the sport. Basketball was her favorite, and the Spurs were her team. Ask her family, and they will tell you she thought she was part of the coaching staff. Bonnie was loving and caring, always thinking of others and putting them before herself. People came to her for advice, and she told it like it was. It may not have been what you wanted to hear, but it was always what you needed to hear. She was loved and respected for it.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Jim Ivey Sr. and Georgia Lott Ivey; her husband, Deacon Efren Calvin Gipson Sr.; her son, Robert Gipson Sr.; her brothers, Elmo Ivey, Morris Allen Ivey, Mifflon Ivey and Jim Ivey Jr.; and her sisters, Willie Mae Oliver, Dorothy Fay, Vera Parker, Jimmie Lee Walker and Joyce Preston. She leaves to cherish her memory her sister, Bernice Nelson; her children, Bonnie Venice, Marcellus Ray Hutchinson, Willie Joe Gipson, Gloria Jackson (Nat), Efren “DeDe” Gipson (Tammy) and Jackie Frazier (Skip); many grandchildren and great-grandchildren; her grand-dog, Spur, and her great-grand-doggies, Homer and Armani Dupree; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, church family and friends.