Caretaker, business owner has spent life helping West Side thrive

Bonnie Lee Perrino is an expert caretaker.

The oldest of eight, she grew up looking after her younger siblings in Western Hills. As she got older, this caretaking extended into her West Side community.

The Harrison resident has cared for West Siders of all ages through her former business, Angel’s Touch Nursing Care, which provided in-home care to elderly clients, and through community service initiatives like the Cheviot Westwood Kiwanis Club, which serves local kids.

Perrino started as an in-home nurse for a local nursing company. Call it serendipity. The owner of the business won the Ohio lottery and wanted Perrino to take over. Perrino was hesitant. She was still grieving her late husband, who had died from exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, and raising two kids. But with time, she was ready.

In1995, she took over the company and renamed it Angel’s Touch Nursing Care, a nod to her late husband, “a special angel in Heaven” looking down on her.

Because her new business was based in Cheviot, Perrino wanted to get to know the community. The most natural way for her to do so? To give back.

For Perrino, it all comes down to her passion for Cincinnati’s West Side.

“West Siders stay West Siders. Very few move to the East Side, and it’s because we’re ingrained into what’s going on here,” Perrino said. “That’s what keeps communities going.”

Shortly after the launch of Angel’s Touch Nursing Care, she joined the Cheviot Westwood Kiwanis Club. At the time, there were roughly 80 or so members in the organization. She was one of six women.

“When you walk in and there’s all these men, you’re thinking ‘Oh my goodness’,” Perrino says. “It was shocking.”

But it was not going to deter her.

She joined the Cheviot-Westwood Kiwanis Club in 1996. By 1999, she was the Membership Chairperson. In 2002, Perrino became the first female co-chair of the Harvest Home Fair, the Cheviot Westwood Kiwanis’ biggest event of the year, and the fair's first female chairperson in 2005. In these roles, Perrino led the effort to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to put back into the Cheviot-Westwood community.

Perrino also joined the Cheviot Westwood Business Association, which was renamed the Cheviot Westwood Community Association and is now called the Cheviot Community Foundation, and was president of the organization from 1997 to 2007. She also was the original chairperson for the community association’s biggest event, Westfest, billed as the West Side’s biggest street party. Proceeds benefitted the city’s annual Cheviot Nativity scene, area libraries, scholarships, winter coats for neighborhood children and school art and music programs.

By organizing fundraisers, the foundation has been able to address many of the community’s needs through purchases like a lift truck for changing signs and decorating street poles, computers for the Cheviot library and Cheviot’s first K-9 police dog.

“Our city is only one mile all the way around,” says Perrino, “but we want to keep our city strong and healthy.”

Today, Perrino is no longer owner of Angel’s Touch Nursing Care after the company merged with Hillebrand Home Health in 2021, but she is still heavily involved in West Side volunteer efforts.

She worries that people will be too busy to continue the volunteer efforts that address their area’s needs. She’s already seen the Kiwanis club membership dwindle from 160 members in the early 2000s to, now, roughly 50 members. Most of this comes from natural attrition. And new members seem hard to come by.

But there’s hope.

By organizing fundraisers, the foundation has been able to address many of the community’s needs through purchases like a lift truck for changing signs and decorating street poles, computers for the Cheviot library and Cheviot’s first K-9 police dog.

Every year, the Cheviot Community Foundation honors a select few junior high students from area schools at its Outstanding Young Citizens Banquet. The students chosen don’t necessarily have the best grades or the best athletic skills.

They are those who, like Perrino, are dedicated to giving back.

It’s a way that she, and those around her, arecaringforthenextcommunityofcaretakers.

What inspires you to give back?

“God gives us all certain talents, and it’s our job to act on those talents.”

What need in the community would you like to see addressed?

“Wow, there are so many. Because I’m in health care, I can see that it’s very hard for some people to get good health care. I would like to see better health care given to everyone, not just those who can afford it.”

Who most influenced or inspired you to care about others?

“My mother. Being the oldest, I was her helper, and I think that led me into nursing. Being the oldest, helping my mom, doing the things that I did. I was a caregiver.”

h Birthplace: Western Hills.

h Current residence: Harrison, Ohio.

h Family: Widowed twice, Anthony Perrino (deceased) and Edward Badinghaus (deceased).

h Children: T.J. Perrino, 47, and Mindy Sweeney, 44. Grandchildren: Mia Perrino, 20, A.J. Perrino, 19, and Dominic Sweeney, 20. Stepchildren: Ed Badinghaus, 50, Julie Diersing, 53, Eileen Badinghaus, 56, and the late Ann Lachtrupp. Step-grandchildren: Steven Lachtrupp, 38, Laura Lachtrupp, 35, Daniel Lachtrupp, 34, Megan Hamlin, 32, and Melissa Hendrix, 29. Stepgreat-grandchildren: Kaylee Lachtrupp, 16, Jackson Lachtrupp, 4, Matthew Miller, 14, Ava Miller, 12, Eleanor Hamlin, 3, Addison Hamlin, 1, Mackenzie Hamlin, 1, and Felicity Lachtrupp, 1.

h Education: St. Francis Central School of Practical Nursing, LPN.

h Occupation: Retired, former owner of Angel’s Touch Nursing Care. Community Liaison for Hillebrand Home Health, an in-home nursing care service that merged with Angel’s Touch Nursing Care in 2021.

“There’s been change in the community and the organizations have been put on notice. We’re moving the needle, but we could do better.”

LIZA SMITHERMAN