Personal Portraits

Bonnie K. Gensch, R.N., brings 22 years of clinical nursing practice to her work with bereaved families. Originally from Fond du Lac, Bonnie is a 1972 graduate of the Mercy Medical Center School of Nursing, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. For the past 13 years, her focus has been in-patient women’s health issues, including the care of bereaved parents who have experienced pregnancy loss. An RTS counselor since 1982, Bonnie currently works at Lutheran Hospital, La Crosse, Wisconsin, half time as a staff nurse on the Ortho/Gyn surgical floor and half time as the RTS Coordinator, a position she has held since 1986.

She is co-author of the chapter "Loss and Grief" in the 5th edition of Maternity and Gynecological Care. In addition, she has contributed extensively to RTS resources, including the Parents’ Booklet, The RTS Counselor Manual, and the pamphlet Family and Friends—How You Can Help. Regular readers of WiSSPers may remember that Bonnie also wrote the first Guest Corner, "Tips for Caring for a Stillborn Infant." Most recently, she lent her expertise to WiSSP during the filming of the new videotape series Life and Death Before Birth — Evaluation of the Stillborn.

Bonnie is married to Larry Gensch, a dairy farmer in West Salem, Wisconsin. Their son, Randy, died at age 18. Their daughter, Laura Gensch Jessie, has two children, Sheena, age 8, and Tanner, age 4 (both children are BEAUTIFUL, reports their grandmother!).

In between working at Lutheran Hospital and keeping fit with jazzercise, Bonnie sews, especially for her grandchildren, and is an accomplished craftswoman who makes wreathes and swags, decorates sweatshirts, does stencils for cards and other hand-made items, etc. Bonnie and her husband also enjoy boating in the summer on the Mississippi.