Marie Julia “Bonnie” Ortner of Wilmington, Delaware, passed away Sunday, January 4, 2026, after a brief illness.
Bonnie was a graduate of Immaculata University with a B.S. in Chemistry and began her career as a chemist for DuPont in the Information Systems Division. She later worked as a property manager for Alexo Hill & Associates and then spent more than 35 years as a Realtor with White Robbins Realtors, Gilpin Realtors, and most recently as an Associate Broker at Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate, where she retired. She loved solving problems and was deeply dedicated to her work.
She was a longtime parishioner in the communities she lived in, including Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Ann’s, St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine, and Our Lady of Lourdes in Pennsylvania. Bonnie enjoyed reading, sewing, and spending time with her family.
She was preceded in death by her father, Lieutenant Jack Wissing (WWII); her parents, Joe and Marie Van Horn; her brother, Chuck Van Horn; and her granddaughter, Michelle Braam.
She is survived by her loving husband of 57 years, Jerry Ortner; her sisters Kevie Naughton (Buzz) and Pam Van Horn of California; Elaine Van Horn of Virginia; brother Peter Van Horn of Pennsylvania; her daughters Debbie Braam (Ric) of Connecticut; Cathy Ortner (Brian George) of Delaware; her son Jay Ortner of Thailand; and grandchildren, Reverend Ryan Braam, Mick Williams, Matt Williams, Luke Williams, and Liv George.
A visitation will be held Monday, January 12, 2026, from 4:00–5:00 p.m. at Chandler Funeral Home, 2506 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine Church. Burial will follow.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Mary Campbell Center at 4641 Weldin Road, Wilmington DE 19803 , https://marycampbellcenter.org/get-involved/support/ or the Chemistry Department of Immaculata University at 1145 West King Rd, Immaculata, PA 19345, www.immaculata.edu. When prompted, specify that your donation should support the Chemistry Department, by selecting “Departmental Funds” or “Scholarships” and adding “Chemistry” in the comments.
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