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Bonnie Gamboa 1955 - c. 1980

Bonnie Sue (Dixon) Gamboa of Modesto, Stanislaus County, California United States was born on November 7, 1955 in Walnut Ridge, AR, and died at age 24 years old circa September 25, 1980 in Modesto, CA. Bonnie Gamboa was buried at Cremated - Lakewood Cemetery in Modesto.

Bonnie Sue (Dixon) Gamboa

Bonnie Sue Dixon

Modesto, Stanislaus County, California United States

November 7, 1955

Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, United States

circa September 25, 1980

Modesto, Stanislaus County, California, United States

Female

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Bonnie Gamboa Bonnie Gamboa (1955 - 1980)

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Bonnie Sue (Dixon) Gamboa's History: 1955 - circa 1980

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Introduction

Bonnie was the youngest of 11 children. She was born to Robert W. (1907 - 1992) and Cora (1912 - 1969) Dixon in Arkansas but the family moved to Modesto CA in 1961, when Bonnie was around six years old. She later married and began working in a nursing home but, according to her father-in-law, Bonnie became disappointed in how the elderly were treated there and went to (seasonal) work at a local nut packing plant before the birth of her baby. The Gamboas were a close family: Bonnie visited her husband, Richard Alphonse Gamboa (1955 - 1988), for lunch at work (he was a cabinet maker) whenever she could and they both visited his father, Richard Sr., almost every day. Desperately wanting to expand their family circle, they tried for a baby for almost 3 years. Finally, on September 22, they had the child of their dreams - a baby boy. After the birth, the local paper (the Modesto Bee) announced the happy event. Shortly after, the Gamboas received a call offering them a free photography session of the infant. A kind and trusting person, Bonnie accepted the offer. The supposed photographer's name was Mary Alice Wry. It turns out that the perpetrator "Mary Alice Wry" had targeted & solicited multiple families with this offer but Bonnie was the only one to accept. On the day of the photo session, Richard Gamboa called his wife to remind her of an errand. She answered the phone and told him that the photographer was there. However, when he called about 30 minutes later, the phone wasn't answered. He became concerned and went home. Finding no one there, he went to the hospital fearing that the baby had become ill. His wife and son weren't at the hospital so he immediately called the police and an extensive search ensued. Four days after their disappearance, on September 29th, the police received a tip. Mary Alice Wry (5 foot 1 inch and 125 lbs and a mother of 3), who claimed to have been pregnant but who never looked pregnant, now had a small infant. When the police investigated, they found the baby (who they identified by some family traits) but not Bonnie. Two days later, the decomposed body of Bonnie Gamboa was found in a local peach orchard. The autopsy showed that she had 57 stab wounds. Mary Wry plead "not guilty." According to contemporaneous reports, Mary had a tubal ligation after her 3rd child and was unable to conceive with her new boyfriend. She therefore decided to kidnap an infant. She was convicted of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. She died in prison sometime around 2016 - 2017 According to records, Bonnie's husband Richard killed himself 8 years later. And what happened to baby Gamboa? Read a 2020 update on his life at What Happened to a Baby Kidnapped By His Mother’s Killer? This case is featured on the TV show "Buried in the Backyard" in Season 3, episode 1. Note: the date of death for Bonnie differs slightly, depending on the source. Find A Grave lists it as September 25, 1980. Other sources list the date that her body was found: October 1st. (See Bonnie Gamboa: Obituary)
11/7

1955

Birthday

November 7, 1955

Birthdate

Walnut Ridge, Arkansas United States

Birthplace

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Ethnicity & Family History

Bonnie was Caucasian. Her father was born in Oklahoma, as was her mother.
Nationality & Locations

Born in Arkansas, Bonnie and her parents and siblings moved to Modesto California in 1961, when Bonnie was six years old. She was raised and married in Modesto, where she was murdered at the age of 24. She was cremated and her remains where interred at Lakewood Cemetery in Modesto.
Professional Career

Bonnie worked in a nursing home, but felt as though the residents of the home were mistreated so worked seasonally at a local nut packing plant, Funsten Nut plant, in Modesto California.
Personal Life & Family

She was a person who truly valued family & worked hard to grow her immediate family with her husband, Richard Alphonse Gamboa who she married in Carson City, Nevada on June 4 1977. They had one son.
09/25

1980

circa

Death

circa September 25, 1980

Death date

Murdered, stabbed 57 times

Cause of death

Modesto, Stanislaus County, California United States
Death location

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Gravesite & Burial

mm/dd/yyyy
Funeral date
Cremated - Lakewood Cemetery in Modesto, CA
Burial location
Obituary

The Modesto Bee (Modesto California) 03 Oct 1960 Fri Gamboa - Modesto, Found October 1 1980. Bonnie Sue Dixon Gamboa, beloved wife of Richard A Gamboa of Modesto, mother of Richard Anthony Gamboa of Modesto, daughter of Robert W. Dixon of Los Banos, sister of Charles Dixon, Barbara Allen, and Larry Dixon of Modesto, Jessie Dixon, L.D. Dixon and Eddie Dixon of Manteca, Rosa Lee Kubala of Los Banos, Louise Sheets and Lorine Evans of Arkansas. A native of Arkansas, aged 24 years. Services will be conducted Saturday 9:00 A.M. at Franklin & Downs - McHenry Chapel, McHenry & Palm Committal, Lakewood Memorial Park. No visitation at the chapel.

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Bonnie Gamboa lived 46 years shorter than the average family member when died at the age of 24.

The average age of a Dixon family member is 70.

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4 Memories, Stories & Photos about Bonnie

Kathy Pinna

32.6k+ favorites

09/03/2020

Richard Gamboa, kidnapped infant

A 1980 newspaper photo of baby Richard Gamboa, son of Bonnie and Richard, who was kidnapped.

Date & Place: 1980 in Modesto, Stanislaus County, California United States

Comments

Kathy Pinna

32.6k+ favorites

08/04/2022

Bonnie Sue Dixon Gamboa

A photo of murder victim Bonnie Gamboa added to Find A Grave by "MTC" on February 28, 2022

Date & Place: 1978 in Modesto, Stanislaus County, California United States

Comments

Kathy Pinna

32.6k+ favorites

08/04/2022

What Happened to a Baby Kidnapped By His Mother’s Killer?

Q News Hub by Shreya Bhatt - September 4 2020 (excerpt)

Baby Gamboa Is A Father and About to Be Married

"Richard Gamboa Jr. is the proud father to a boy and a girl. He is divorced from his first wife, but he is about to remarry. According to the wedding website, on September 19, 2020, Gamboa is marrying his longtime friend Christina Moreno.

Their wedding story reads, “I met Richard 2001 at Denny’s, I was the hostess and he was a busser. He was mad that I had taken his hostess position. So he was quite the brat, he used to give me a hard time and would spray me down with the dish hose. We built a great friendship. Started hanging out then decided to stay friends. We came back together as friends in 2012, we were there for each other through some really hard times. Then life took us in different directions again. In 2017, I was sitting on my front porch as he drove by and saw me … We went out that night and have been together ever since. Third time really is a charm. We are inseparable, we love to be with each other he is my best friend, lover, and companion. We really are blessed to have each other.”

The article goes on to say:

Gamboa Was Raised by His Aunt and Uncle

"It is remarkable that Gamboa has found such happiness considering the tragedies that befell him at such a young age. When he was just an infant, Mary Alice Wry murdered his mother Bonnie, and kidnapped him. The family had no idea what had happened to Bonnie or the baby for over a week, until eventually Wry was found with the baby and Bonnie’s body later turned up in an orchard outside Modesto, California.

“I was told when I came home my dad was overwhelmed with emotion, full of joy and pain at the same time because one of us came home and the other didn’t,” said Gamboa in the Buried in the Backyard premiere, adding, “My dad was broken …. it was like a piece of him died with [my mother].”

Gamboa went on to say that eight years after his mother’s death, his father, Richard Sr., “lost his own battle with addiction.”

“I really got angry, I lashed out at the world, but eventually, I moved in with my aunt and uncle. They treat me like one of their kids,” he said, adding, “Once I got married and had kids, all that anger and pain went away.”

Comments

Kathy Pinna

32.6k+ favorites

09/03/2020

Bonnie Gamboa

A photo from the San Francisco Examiner of murder victim Bonnie Gamboa.

Date & Place: 1980

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Bonnie Dixon's Family Tree & Friends

Bonnie Dixon's Family Tree

Parent

Bonnie Gamboa Nov 7, 1955 - c. Sep 25, 1980

Partner

Child

Sibling

Friendships

Bonnie's Friends

5 Followers & Sources

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Other Biographies

Other Bonnie Dixon Biographies

Dixon, Bonnie Dixon, Bonnie (Aug 27, 1940 - Jan 23, 1994) Dixon, Bonnie (Born c. 1954) Dixon, Bonnie (Born c. 1952) Dixon, Bonnie (Born c. 1940) Dixon, Bonnie (Born c. 1956) Dixon, Bonnie (Born c. 1946) Dixon, Bonnie (Born c. 1956) Dixon, Bonnie (Born c. 1984) Dixon, Bonnie (Nov 10, 1927 - Nov 10, 1999)

Dixon, Bonnie (Jun 12, 1911 - Aug 9, 2001) Dixon, Bonnie (Nov 5, 1941 - Jul 31, 2009) Dixon, Bonnie (Feb 28, 1929 - Jun 5, 2000) Dixon, Bonnie (Aug 23, 1931 - May 1975) Dixon, Bonnie (May 6, 1904 - Jan 8, 2005) Dixon, Bonnie (Dec 6, 1914 - Sep 29, 1991) Dixon, Bonnie (Jun 12, 1912 - Jun 23, 2006) Dixon, Bonnie (Jan 24, 1952 - May 24, 2011) Dixon, Bonnie (Jul 23, 1927 - Mar 4, 2011) Dixon, Bonnie (Jun 24, 1924 - Dec 30, 2006)

Other Dixon Family Biographies

Dixon, Joseph (Born Mar 1849) Dixon, Benjamin (Born Dec 1880) Dixon, Charles (Born Oct 1882) Dixon, Frank (Born May 1884) Dixon-Cole, Lucy (Born May 1886) Dixon, Arthur (Born Jun 1888) Cooper-Dixon, Martha 'mattie' (Born Jul 20, 1863) Dixon, Isaac (Born Sep 7, 1853) Dixon, Lenorad (Born Nov 30, 1869) Dixon, Lee (Born Mar 29, 1903)

Dixon, Ruby (Born Aug 4, 1905) Dixon, William (Born 1903) Dixon, Wilma (Jul 29, 1922 - Jan 12, 2004) Dixon, Ralph (Jul 20, 1900 - Oct 1987) Dixon, Leon (May 8, 1914 - Sep 1966) Dixon, Wesley (Jul 19, 1901 - Jul 1966) Dixon, James (Jan 31, 1898 - Jan 22, 2003) Dixon, Alyce (Apr 8, 1911 - Nov 1982) Dixon, Donald (Sep 14, 1922 - Jan 1, 2006) Dixon, Albert (Died Dec 1959)

About the AncientFaces Community

Bonnie Gamboa 1955 - c. 1980

Bonnie Sue (Dixon) Gamboa's History: 1955 - circa 1980

Introduction

Birthday

Ethnicity & Family History

Nationality & Locations

Professional Career

Personal Life & Family

Death

Gravesite & Burial

Obituary

4 Memories, Stories & Photos about Bonnie

Bonnie Dixon's Family Tree & Friends

Bonnie Dixon's Family Tree

Bonnie's Friends

Other Bonnie Dixon Biographies

Other Dixon Family Biographies