Bonnie was born at 12:01 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day in 1942 in San Francisco, Calif., where she lived for eight years before moving to Salt Lake City, Utah. At 20 years old, she met her soulmate, Dave Reddick, whom she married after a two-year courtship.

“My parents were the perfect couple,” says Dalton, the couple’s first child. She was born two years after their marriage. Their son, Jon Reddick, completed the nuclear family two years later.

In 1970, the “all-American family” relocated to Denver, Colo. At the time, Dave was working for Mountain Bell Telephone Company, now known as AT&T. He had spent 25 years with the company when Mountain Bell split with AT&T, and not liking the dynamic, Dave decided it was time for a change.

After a bit of research, he connected with the Mini Storage Alarm Company, which was founded in 1975. The owner, Buzz Victor, quickly offered him a position as vice president in charge of marketing and sales. That was the moment fate redirected their lives.

Over the next few years, Dave learned the ins and outs of the self-storage business from Victor, an industry pioneer and one of the founders of the Self Storage Association. Enthralled with the possibilities of self-storage security, they developed the security system and the property management software system. With Victor wanting to focus more on the development side of the business, and Dave eager to take over the security side, the offer was made for Dave to take over the security and software pieces of the company.

In 1988, Dave and Bonnie purchased that portion of the business from Victor and relocated it from Denver to Lakewood, Colo. It was there that Sentinel Systems was born.

Five years later, Dalton joined the ranks to tend to the marketing and advertising. Jon, who had previously worked with Sentinel when the company was located in Denver, returned to join the sales team. This driving force transformed Sentinel into a family business.

All the while, Bonnie was succeeding within the mortgage industry. “She had a great head on her shoulders,” says Dalton. “She was smart and good with numbers.”

Despite her contentment, Dave was keen on having the entire family in the mix. “She was reluctant to join the family business,” Dalton recalls, joking that family dynamics can be intimidating at times.

But her unwavering dedication to her family prompted her to become the vice president in 1999. Overseeing all aspects of human relations for the business, she quickly became “the heart of the company.”

Two years after joining Sentinel, Bonnie, then 57, took on the roles of president and CEO following Dave’s untimely death. “She stayed home with him while he was ill,” says Dalton, adding that he had been sick for seven months before passing in 2001. “Instead of stepping down, she stepped up and into that role.”

With the support of her children, both of whom became vice presidents, she managed to “keep a great company going and not let anyone down.”

For more than two decades, Bonnie was indispensable to the Sentinel family of approximately 20 employees. It was her compassion and caring nature that made the 14,000-square-foot headquarters in Lakewood, Colo., feel like home.

“It was a happy place for her,” says Dalton. “The employees respected and loved her. And she loved all the employees, all our products, and the company. She was proud to be a business owner.”

Bonnie earned the love and respect of Sentinel’s employees by being a “big part of daily operations” and building a personal relationship with everyone at the business. Because she handled staff records, timesheets, raises, promotions, new hire orientation, training, and PTO, among other things, everyone reported to her and interacted with her on a regular basis.

“She had a pulse on everything,” Dalton says, adding that her mother enjoyed attending industry trade shows and meeting attendees, even though she wasn’t the company’s spokesperson because Dave was a “huge presence in the industry.” After his passing, Jon became the “face” of the business.

While Bonnie was more “behind the scenes” than the other family members, her tremendous generosity—perhaps her most memorable and influential attribute—was always front and center. Bonnie was present for employees through the good times and bad, celebrating all of life’s milestones.

“She cared about everyone,” says Dalton, adding that Bonnie was honest, loyal, and approachable; these traits made it easy for people to confide in her.

Sentinel employees weren’t the only ones benefitting from Bonnie’s thoughtfulness, though. Her big-heartedness extended far beyond the company’s walls. Through Sentinel, she and the company made numerous donations to auctions held by various state and national self-storage associations, in turn raising funds for various charities across the country. She supported numerous charities and causes that were near and dear to her heart as well.

Although the family had received several offers to sell Sentinel over the years, Bonnie, Joell, and Jon kept the company in the family until December of 2021, when they sold it. Bonnie and Joell retired, while Jon remains an integral part at Sentinel Systems, working alongside the new CEO.

Then, in November 2022, Bonnie, who had always been a healthy and strong woman, eating right and exercising regularly for as long as Dalton could remember, contracted what was originally assumed to be a sinus infection. When she wasn’t rebounding from the condition, her children urged her to seek treatment. Unfortunately, the doctor mismanaged her virus and wouldn’t prescribe antibiotics, stating that she just needed to let it run its course. As the weeks passed, Bonnie grew weaker and the antibiotics she eventually received had little effect on her state. Nine weeks into her illness, at the urging of her children, she insisted that her doctor order bloodwork. The results showed that her kidneys were shutting down and she was rushed to the emergency room. Numerous tests provided results showing that a kidney injury, called anka vasculitis, was the cause of her declining health, and her continued use of Metformin was exacerbating matters. Bonnie endured countless biopsies, scans, and tests, all of which eventually led to dialysis. The overwhelming number of medical procedures she had to withstand was exhausting and pushed her to stop treatment. On April 27, 2023, at the age of 81, surrounded by her children, Bonnie peacefully left this world, with her head resting in her daughter’s arms.

Naturally, Bonnie’s passing has been difficult for everyone to endure, leaving “a big hole” in her family’s lives. But her legacy of love lives on through her children, grandchildren, friends, and former employees.

Dalton will miss best friend adventures and shopping trips with Bonnie, and sporting events won’t be the same for Jon. As for her four doting grandchildren, she proudly attended all their extracurricular activities. According to the remaining Red Cup Club members, a neighborhood friendship group, there will always be a poolside seat open for her every Thursday night.

“She was awesome,” Dalton says. “I feel bad for the people who didn’t get to meet her.”

Indisputably, Bonnie was a “shining example of the good in the world and proof that love conquers all.”

To read Bonnie’s obituary, view photographs, or express condolences, visit www.CFCSColorado.org.