A new community bench installed on the hillside at the lodge honors longtime POA employee Marge Bonelli. Bonelli was employed by the POA from 1974 to 1993.
Bonelli’s children purchased the bench through the POA’s Bench Program. Next to the bench is a tree that the POA planted in Marge’s honor many years ago. A plaque was also installed at the base of the tree.
Bonelli and her husband purchased a lot and built a home on Vacation Drive around 1971. “There were only about 50 houses in Canyon Lake at the time and there weren’t many full-time residents.” her son, Dan Bonelli, recalled.
After a divorce, Bonelli relocated to Quail Valley, attended typing school, and sought employment with the POA. “She started as a receptionist and worked her way up to manager,” her son said. “At the time, the POA offices were located at the lodge and her office was upstairs.” Longtime residents remember Bonelli as “the sweetest lady.”
“As a young kid, I remember helping my mom produce the very first Friday Flyer, which at the time merely consisted of a flyer featuring weekly lodge dinner specials,” her son said. “I would help her make copies of the flyers and go with her to deliver them to the guard shacks every week. On Fridays, the guards would pass out the flyers to the drivers entering the gates.”
Due to illness, Bonelli resigned from the POA in 1993. She was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in November 1993, according to her son.
Bonelli’s son moved back to Canyon Lake in 1996. His daughter, son, and grandchildren also reside in Canyon Lake. The family often visits the hillside at the lodge where the plaque and tree, and now a bench, pay tribute to the patriarch of their family.
“We enjoy visiting the spot that pays tribute to my mom,” her son said. “Especially on special days like Mother’s Day and her birthday.”
