She married USN Petty Officer Robert Harrison in 1944[3] and sailed as a war bride[4] to California where their daughter was born.
The family moved to naval bases in Florida where her husband died following a car accident.
After suffering from spousal abuse, Heather divorced her husband and she and her children left Florida and they returned to Australia in 1957 to live with her father.
[10] She administered Neville Bonner scholarships and legacies after his death and continued to provide advice to the Indigenous community and Jagera people.
A Heather Bonner Memorial Scholarship[11] was offered from 2006 to 2015 for an Ipswich woman to study at university.