RICHMOND, Ind. (November 20, 2012)--Former Mousekeeteer Bonita Lynn Fields Elder, an agile dancer who showcased her skills on the 1950s Disney children's show, has died in Indiana at age 68.

Fields' cousin, Robbin Myers, of DeBary, Fla., said Tuesday that Fields died Saturday at a Richmond hospital after a two-year battle with throat cancer.

She said Fields moved to Indiana a few years ago to care for her ailing, now-deceased mother.

Fields was 12 when her dancing abilities helped her win a slot on "The Mickey Mouse Club" in 1957 in the show's third season.

She auditioned in California, where her family had moved from Indiana when she was 9.

Myers says Fields went by the name Lynn but adopted the stage name "Bonnie," a shortened version of her first name, for the show