Struggling family loses mother, wife
Carlene Bonagofski, part of ‘Our Kids’ series, dies at 39
Jerry and Carlene Bonagofski were planning to renew their wedding vows today in a small ceremony before family and friends.
Instead the Bonner County man is planning a funeral for his wife of 20 years.
Carlene Bonagofski died Thursday at age 39 at Kootenai Medical Center, her husband said, leaving behind seven children and four grandchildren. The family was profiled in The Spokesman-Review in April 2007 as part of the “Our Kids: Our Business” series, in a story that showed the love among the family members, despite their extreme poverty.
At the time, the couple lived with their four youngest children in rural Bonner County in a singlewide trailer with no running water. Power was supplied by a generator and the family’s sole income came from Carlene Bonagofski’s job at Wal-Mart.
Last December, Jerry Bonagofski’s health pushed the family closer to town, to a small blue rental at the intersection of state Highway 200 and Colburn Culver Road, northeast of Sandpoint. He suffers from diabetes and degenerative arthritis; the neuropathy in his feet forced him to use a wheelchair starting about four months ago, he said.
“She was always so concerned about me and my health,” said Jerry Bonagofski, who is 48.
His wife had health insurance through her job, and the children were covered under Medicaid, but Jerry Bonagofski had no health insurance, he said. He has a hearing Aug. 18 to apply for Social Security disability payments.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do now,” he said about providing for his four youngest children: Gabriel, 6, Jacenta, 8, Jacob, 15, and Athena, 19. Jerry Bonagofski also has three grown children from a previous marriage.
Carlene had 11 abscessed teeth that frequently prevented her from eating solid food, but the bill to repair them would have been $4,000, she said in a previous story. About a month ago, she started feeling fatigued and went to the doctor. She learned she had high blood pressure and received medication. The doctor did additional tests but found nothing more, her husband said.
On Wednesday morning, Jerry Bonagofski woke to find his wife “breathing weird” and tried unsuccessfully to wake her. He called 911 and started CPR, but she died the following day of heart failure, he said.
“She was my everything,” he said.