Sonja (Sunny)Lea Venable, 82, Loving Wife, Adoring Mom, Sister, Grammy, Granny Sunny, Great Granny, and GiGi are just a few titles she held. Sunny was born August 8th1938 to Orvell and Edna Essman and raised in St Louis, Missouri. Her love for life was contagious and extreme.

She graduated Maplewood High school in 1956 and married her high school sweetheart Don Venable on June, 8th 1957. Don and Sunny had a lifetime of adventures. They started their married life living in Coranodo, California while Don was in the Navy. After that, they bought their first home back in Maplewood, Missouri. Then they lived in Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arkansas, and then settled back in Springfield, Missouri.

Sunny enjoyed 6 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. Her greatest love was spending time with them any chance she had. Sunny loved travel and the outdoors. One of her passions was motor homing. She often took those grandchildren Glamping.  Don and Sunny traveled across North America numerous times during their retirement.

Sunny was a professional puppeteer and rubbed elbows with the likes of Jim Henson, Frank Oz and Jeff Dunham at the national puppeteer conventions. Sunny started several puppet ministries at the churches she and Don attended. She started the one at Schweitzer UMC in 1980 and traveled on summer tours with 8-15 teenagers.  They share a message to churches across the country via puppets.

Sunny was a wonderful Mom. She also had other careers including, owner and operator of Mom’s Ice Cream Parlor in Springfield Missouri. They were also the founders of Ozark Mountain Popcorn in Ozark, Missouri. Sunny was a Program Director at Head Start which was a lifelong passion of hers. She also dabbled in real-estate.

Don and Sunny were together for 68 years. They each found their soulmates in life. She was the first and only girlfriend of Don’s and he was the first and only boyfriend of hers. Sunny’s name was characteristically accurate, she would light up a room. She was loved, cherished and will be incredibly missed by anyone that encountered her.

Sunny was preceded in death by her mother Edna Essman, her father Orvell Essman, brother John Essman, and son Tim Venable.

Sunny was survived by, husband Don Venable, brothers Don Essman (Carron) and Bill Essman, daughter Pam Shone (Don), son Russ Venable (Melissa), grandchildren Dane Shone (Amanda), Tessa Shone, Kylie Gallegos (Daniel), Jesika Clem (Caleb), Victoria Venable and Jacob Venable. great grandchildren, Samuel Shone, Riley Shone, Parker Gallegos, Paxton Gallegos and Evan Clem.

In Lieu of Flowers the family prefers donations be made in Sunny Venable’s Honor to OACAC Head Start or St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Services will be held at Schweitzer United Methodist Church, 2747 E. Sunshine Street Springfield Missouri 65804. Friday April 2nd at 1:00 pm.