Yvonne “Bonnie” Slatton

Yvonne “Bonnie” Slatton

Coralville

Yvonne “Bonnie” Slatton, 84, of Coralville, Iowa, passed away at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics on Sept. 8, 2022, surrounded by her friends.

Bonnie was born on June 5, 1938, in Chattanooga, Tenn., the daughter of Howard and Carolyn (Jump) Slatton. She graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 1960 with a B.S. in Physical Education and English, the University of North Carolina in 1964 with an M.S. in Physical Education, and from the University of Iowa in 1970 with a Ph.D. in Physical Education.

.She began her tenure in the then Women’s Physical Education Department at the University of Iowa in 1964, where she served as a faculty member and a coach of tennis and badminton.

Her interest in ethical and moral issues in sport and leisure, as well as gender and diversity, led her to be active in governance issues in sports. She taught courses at the University of Iowa that dealt with these issues, for example, Inequality in Sport and Sociology of Women in Sport and Philosophy of Sport.

Bonnie was Faculty Representative to the Big Ten and the NCAA for 21 years. She was an active participant in the NCAA Committee on Infractions, participated as a member of the Executive Committee and Executive Board of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and was a member of the official delegation to the Pan Am Games in Cuba and the Olympic Games in Barcelona.

Throughout her career, Bonnie was the recipient of many awards and honors. She received the National Honor Award through the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport in 1987, the M. Gladys Scott Award through the Department of Physical Education and Dance in 1983, the Lou Henry Hoover Award in 1992, was named Distinguished Alumni at Middle Tennessee State University in 1994, received the Brody Award at UI in 1995, the Jean Jew Award at UI in 1997, and was a recipient of the Hancher Finkbine Award in 2009.

She served as President of the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports and spent a year in Washington D.C. as Acting Executive Director of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.

Bonnie was an avid tennis player and continued playing until her eighties, when visual problems precluded it. She was a kind and gentle soul who felt anger was a waste of energy. Bonnie was a champion for equal rights for all people.

Bonnie is survived by her brother, Gregory (Jeri) Slatton, sister-in-law, Joi; numerous nieces, nephews, colleagues, and her close friend, Peggy Burke.

She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Mary Alice Hash and Carol Gould; brothers, Milton, HF and Ray Slatton; niece, Michelle Gould; and her longtime friend, Christine Grant.

A Memorial Service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Howard and Carolyn Jump Scholarship at Middle Tennessee State University, Friends of the Animal Center Foundation, Halston United Methodist Home for Children in Greenville, Tenn., the University of Iowa Women’s Archive at the University of Iowa Library, or the Iowa City Hospice.