Dr. Charles A. Bonnett 

February 2, 1937 – February 10, 2026 

Dr. Charles Bonnett passed away peacefully on February 10, 2026, at age 89, in Bend, Oregon, surrounded by his loving family.

Charles was born in Salem, Oregon on February 2nd, 1937, and was the sole child of Charles and Rachel Bonnett. He grew up in Eugene, Oregon where the first Bonnett family pioneers arrived in 1854, having come across the Oregon Trail. Growing up in Eugene, Charles enjoyed a busy childhood of academics, tennis, basketball, and swimming. He excelled academically at all the levels of his education, graduating from Eugene High School at the age of 16.

After high school, he attended Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA, where he studied to become a medical doctor. At Stanford, Charles was also on the boxing team, and was undefeated in his senior year, earning the nickname “Bang Bang Bonnett” due to his ability to knock out his opponents in the first round. He considered boxing in the Golden Gloves competitions but his lifelong desire to become a medical doctor won out and thus, he literally “hung up his gloves”.

After attending Stanford, Charles was accepted into medical school at the University of Oregon. While there, he began studying to become an orthopedic surgeon. He ultimately focused his orthopedic studies on treating spinal curvatures related to scoliosis.

While finishing medical school, he married Patricia A. Triplett, who he met when they were both attending Stanford University. Soon after he finished medical school, they moved to Southern California where they began a family and had four children. (3 girls and 1 boy) Charles found excellent opportunities to excel as an orthopedic surgeon in California and remained there for his entire medical career.

While practicing medicine in California for 25 years, he became known as one of the most innovative and accomplished spine surgeons in the country, pioneering surgical techniques using the Harrington rod to repair severe cases of scoliosis in his patients. Due to the speed and efficiency of his surgical skills, he also became very well known for his ability to perform complex surgeries without having to rely on blood transfusions for his patients.

He held many leadership positions in the medical field, including Chief of Spine Deformity at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, Chief of Surgery at Fountain Valley Hospital, and Chairman of the Board at Fountain Valley Hospital.

After a divorce in 1981, Charles would go on to marry Britta E. Eastman in 1990. Together, they would travel the world together, visiting over fifty countries. They greatly enjoyed each other’s company and remained happily married for over 35 years. After completing 25 years of a successful career in medicine, he retired from medicine and began a second career investing in and developing commercial real estate. He moved to Las Vegas, NV and continued his real estate investments in surrounding states. Charles ultimately focused on his real estate investments in Bend, Oregon where he bought a vacation home so he could enjoy all its natural beauty and growing opportunities.

Over the next 30 years, Charles would continue to make investments in Bend, as he grew his real estate portfolio across Bend and Central Oregon. Acquiring the Mill Point Business Campus, with its gorgeous views of the Deschutes River in Bend, was one of the highlights of his real estate investment career. He was pleased to know that his family would continue to oversee his investments in Bend for generations to come. His passion for Bend extended to the support he showed for the local community where he enjoyed supporting local charities. He was also instrumental in OSU-Cascades being able to acquire their first educational building in Bend. The OSU-Cascades Graduate Studies building in Bend was just the start the University needed, and it has continued to grow successfully ever since.

Charles was an avid golfer in his free time, and he played many rounds of golf with his lifelong friends. He also had a love of all dogs, but particularly miniature schnauzers, to which he owned several throughout his life.

Charles was an avid reader, especially of military biographies, and US History. He loved attending UNLV basketball games, Las Vegas shows and cheering on Stanford and the University of Oregon on television.

Some of his proudest times though, were in supporting his children’s and grandchildren’s educational pursuits of their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at renowned universities all around the world. He was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, always finding time in his busy schedule for family.

He is survived by his loving and devoted wife Britta E. Bonnett of over 35 years, his children and stepchildren including Julie Akau (husband Eric), Eileen Mahdi, Karen Joseph (husband David), Bill Bonnett (wife Sharon), Kevin Eastman, Brian Eastman, and 12 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.

Charles will be laid to rest in a family memorial service in Eugene, OR. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to your charity of choice or to OSU-Cascades at (800) 354-7281 or https://give.fororegonstate.org/1AoUBZcqun