Caroline N. Sperling

Caroline "Bonnie" (Neill) Sperling of Bethlehem, was 88 when she passed away on August 14, 2023 after a brief illness.

Bonnie was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but moved as an infant to Charlotte, North Carolina. Her southern accent was distinctive even after living six decades in the northeast.

Bonnie met and married Leslie Sperling at Duke University where they were both graduate students. She was studying fruit fly genetics, and Les was working on his doctoral degree in polymer chemistry. They moved to Memphis, Tennessee for a few years, where both of their daughters were born, and later to Princeton, New Jersey for Les' post-doctoral work. They settled in Bethlehem in 1967 when Les started as faculty at Lehigh University. Bonnie also taught economics at Lehigh for several years, and later worked in urban development in Bethlehem. They were married for 58 years at the time of Les' death in 2016.

Bonnie was a devoted cat owner, a master knitter, and a generous volunteer with many local organizations. She was an opinionated liberal democrat, and feisty until the very end.

She is survived by her sister, Nancy Kefauver, her two daughters: Reisa Anne Sperling, MD and Sheri Leigh O'Connor, her four grandchildren: Aubrey and Lyra Sperling Johnson, Ryland and Tresten Sweigard, and a brand new great-granddaughter, Olivia Sweigard.

Bonnie will be greatly missed by her family and friends. She wished that any donations be sent to Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lehigh Valley, Attn: Dina Kovats-Bernat, 1302 N Sherman Street, Allentown, PA 18109.