Hobart woman fought against inequality

Bonnie Reister tried to be the voice for the underdog, said her daughter, Maggie Reister Walters.

She was interested in women's issues and was a member of NOW, the National Organization for Women, her daughter said.

"As a social worker, she saw what capitalism could do to people who didn't have much," she said. "She was outraged by inequality."

Bonnie Reister, 81, of Hobart, died Nov. 20. She was a graduate of Michigan State University and Purdue University Calumet. She had been a marriage and family counselor for Lutheran Social Services.

She was an avid model railroader, a hobby she picked up when her sons were little. She had created detailed scenery of 1930s Southern Illinois for her trains, complete with a church, movie theater and houses.

"She loved building scenery and houses," her daughter said. "She had an incredible layout."

She enjoyed gardening and would use graph paper to plot out plans for her garden. She would collect catalogs all winter and rebuild her garden a section at a time.

"All winter, she would dream about her garden. She had something building every season. It was gorgeous. It was a labor of love," her daughter said.

Walters said she admired her mother's honesty and her courage in becoming a counselor.

"She tried to meet her own goals, and she tried to be a mirror for people so they could discover themselves," she said.