Karen Virginia "Ginger" Bonifay, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Monday, March 24, 2025.

Born September 1, 1949, Ginger (as she was always known to everyone but the bank and government) was 75 years old. Her life began in Pensacola, FL as the oldest girl of 5 siblings born and raised in East Pensacola Heights (EPH). Her family moved to the shores of Bayou Texar when she was young, and the legacy of the Bonifay ski family began. Ginger's father and uncle were one of the few who started water skiing utilizing their ability to make their own skis.  She grew up on the Bayou along with her other brothers & sisters, honing her skills in both recreational and then in tournament skiing after taking a family vacation to Cypress Gardens.  She attended Sacred Heart Catholic School and then graduated in 1967 from Pensacola Catholic High School where she was Captain of the Cheerleading Team.

"Bonifay Beach" as the house on the Bayou was called, became the foundation for the Bayou Texar Ski Club of which Ginger was co-founder. The entire family along with other Bayou ski "rats" and friends put on numerous waterski shows reminiscent of a mini-Cypress Gardens spanning from shows on Pensacola Beach in her high school days to the special show on Bayou Texar done in honor of her younger brother's accidental death in 1979. Ginger got to ski with many professional skiers from Cypress Gardens who came here that year to participate in the Memorial Ski Show & dedication of the ski monument on Bayou Texar. She helped so many people learn to ski right off Bonifay Beach – you may be one of them!

Ginger could have made the move to a professional waterskiing career after high school as did 3 of her siblings who skied at Cypress Gardens and Walt Disney World. But her heart was with her high school sweetheart David Harris and her family. They married not long after graduation and were then thrust into Army Life. They spent some time in Boston where her daughter was born and then spent a tour in Africa. She came back home to Pensacola for the birth of their second child – a son. Then, still belonging to the Army, went back to Boston for a while. When David's time was up, they returned home. As their kids grew, they also enjoyed the water life of Bayou Texar and Ginger got back into water skiing but also into the work of helping to organize shows and teach the young ones to perform. In future years, they divorced, and she later married Keith "Kip" Eadler inheriting 3 other wonderful children.

Still living in Pensacola, Ginger got a job in the computer operations office of the County Comptroller and then later worked for CSC (a contractor) at Saufley NAVCOMPTSSA with 3 of her best friends. As time moved on, her children had moved to the Winter Haven area and she was about to become a grandmother, so she and Kip moved down south to be with them. There she remained! In later years, she and Kip separated, and he went back to his home state of Indiana. Ginger remained in Winter Haven and moved into a house with her older brother Pete on Lake Idylwild until his death in 2019. She remained in the same house till her own death and passed away peacefully in her sleep due to complications from pneumonia and COPD.

In many of her last years, even though not being in the best of health herself, she continued to be the matriarch of her family, guardians of 2 gentlemen with developmental disabilities, mother, sister and sister-in-law, cousin, aunt and dear friend to many.

Ginger is preceded in death by her parents, Earl P. Bonifay, Sr. and Virginia Long Bonifay; brothers, Earl P. "Pete" Bonifay, Jr., Timothy A. "Timmy" Bonifay, Sr., and Sam Beard.

She is survived by her brothers, Paul Bonifay (Janine) and David Beard (Iris); sisters, Kathryn "Kacey" Bonifay Findley (Brian) and Tally Beard Carney (Steve); children, Christopher "Chris" Harris, Angela "Angie" Harris Baird (Robert), Emily Eadler Blocher, Sarah Eadler, and Matthew Eadler (Heather); sisters-in-law, Roxanne S. Bonifay, Betty Bonifay, and Dee Bonifay; grandchildren, Ashton Gardener (Mariah), Gabrielle Gardener, Alden Baird, Paul David Harris, Sarah Escue Alcaide (Hector), Ryder Eadler, and Parker Eadler; great-grandchild, Greyson Smothers; 2nd mother, Claudia Beard Bonifay; many nieces and nephews; godchildren, Jessica Jordan & Quinn DiMaria; as well as 2 special people who will miss Ginger's devotion, love and help in their day to day activities – Raymond Sherry and Jay Nissen.

She was always willing to help you and was dearly loved and cherished by those who knew her.  That didn't mean she couldn't be stubborn because when she believed in something you weren't changing her mind!

If you would like, in honor of Ginger and the place responsible for her meeting Angie and Chris' dad, donations may be made to Pensacola Catholic High to help with the needed building plans. Checks can be made payable to Pensacola Catholic High in memory of "Ginger Bonifay". Address: 3043 W. Scott St., Pensacola, FL 32505 or online at https://pensacolachs.org/memorials-and-bequests/. OR also in honor of Ginger, you may make a donation to Meals on Wheels thrift store in Winter Haven, one of the many places she loved to go to find the best bargains!

There will be a Memorial Mass held at 10:30am Saturday, May 3. 2025 in the Chapel of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Winter Haven - where she was a parishioner. Please mark this on your calendar. Memorial services in Pensacola will be announced at a later date.