Jim Bonebright
November 14, 1967 ~ July 10, 2016
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James “Boney” Bonebright, 48, of Miller, passed away Sunday, July 10, 2016 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls surrounded by his family and friends.
Funeral service were held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, July 15, 2016 at the Miller Armory with Rev. Brian Jones officiating. Burial followed at Beulah Cemetery, rural St. Lawrence. Visitation was held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Thursday, July 14, 2016 with a 7:00 p.m. prayer service, all at the First Presbyterian Church, Miller.
The man. The myth. The legend. Men wanted to be him, and woman wanted to gaze upon his splendor, and that is exactly how Boney would say it. Boney loved everyone and everything he came into contact with. If there was laughter, Boney was always the source of the humor. Boney was an exceptionally loving, kind and talented man who took enormous pride in his family and those he worked for and served. Boney truly loved pizza, and not just good pizza, but the very best pizza—Mainstreet Lunchbox pizza!
Boney attended school in Wessington and played football, basketball, and also started learning how to play his favorite instrument—the trumpet. After graduating in 1986 from Wessington High School, Boney attended Mitchell Technical Institute, and graduated with a power line degree. Boney then moved to Miller, and started working for the street department. Eventually, Boney became the manager for Miller’s water and sewer departments, Miller’s airport, and the city’s pool as well. There is nothing, within the city limits of Miller, that Boney has not impacted in many positive ways. Boney started Boney’s Parts Plus, a small engine and lawn mower sales company serving the Hand County area, in 1995. Boney loved to work; however, he loved his family and friends more.
Boney married Shelli Dunnick on July 1989, and the two welcomed Ashley Bonebright and Joshua Bonebright into the world. Boney then married Stephanie Resel on September 25, 1999, and the two have been inseparable ever since. Boney and Stephanie have enjoyed years of riding their motorcycle, working in their businesses, and playing with their grandchildren, nieces and nephews together.
Boney served on the Hand County Ambulance, as an EMT, and on the Miller Fire Department. Boney was a member of Wessington Lodge 107, James Valley Shrine, Yeldez Shrine and the Westerners Shrine.
Boney is survived by his wife, Stephanie Bonebright; his children: Ashley Bonebright of Crooks and Joshua Bonebright of Watertown; his grandchildren: Ayden, Emma, and Carter (arriving Aug. ’16); his parents, Clair and Marlys Bonebright of Wessington; his brothers: Brian (Deb) Bonebright of Miller and Bruce (Leslee) Bonebright of St. Cloud, MN, his parents-in-law, Duane and Sally Resel of Miller; as well as countless other relatives, friends, co-workers and fans.
Boney was truly one-of-a-kind, and will always be remembered for that.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in Boney's honor at American Bank & Trust in Miller.
Reck Funeral Home of Miller has been entrusted with Boney’s arrangements.View current weather.
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Bony will be missed by friends, family and the community. R.I.P. My friend.
Go with God my friend. Though you are gone, the way you lived your life will ensure that you will be with us forever.
I am so sorry for your loss. Boney was a wonderful, caring, man, he was so good to my Dad when Arlene was in the hospital and when she passed away. May God wrap his loving arms around you and give you strength and comfort. You are all in my prayers.
I can’t begin to tell you the sympathy we have for the family at this tragic time. I can only pray that God will give you strength. The city is in mourning with you . RIP Boney
My heart goes out to the family and my deepest condolences
My sincere sympathy to the family of Jim (Boney) Bonebright.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire family at this difficult time.
Please accept my condolences for the sudden loss of your husband, father, grandfather, son, brother-in-law, and son-in-law. My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. May you find comfort in knowing he is in God’s loving care.
Sincere condolences to all of Boney’s family. My heart breaks for each of you, there simply are not words. Wrapping you with hugs, sending prayers and love and may God stay ever close to you each moment of the day. Rest in peace Boney. Melissa and family
Sorry for your loss.
Thoughts and prayers for the Bonebright family
Words are not enough. May God wrap his loving arms around all of you! A tremendous loss for the Miller community as well.
Words can not express my sadness I feel for all of you! I’m so sorry. Always trying to bring a smile or make a laugh! What a great guy
Boney’s entire family. With a sadden heart we have lost a great gentle man whom he called everyone friend. May you all feel our hugs around you with love.
Clair & Marlys, so very sorry for the loss of your son. I guess God thought he had worked long an hard enough that he would take him to heaven where he will rest in peace and God will take care of him from now on. I can’t imagine your pain right now but know that your family and friends will do anything we can to help! Take care and may God give you extra strength thru this difficult time.
Clair, Marlys and family. I was saddened to hear of Jim’s accident and passing this past week. Growing up with Jim, he was always a smiling, joking prankster who loved to laugh and have a great time. Our family prays that you will find peace, comfort and serenity in the future. We wish you nothing but the best today and in the future through this difficult time.
Dear Clair and Family, We were so sorry to hear the sad news. With our sympathy and understanding, may prayers and memories sustain you. Sincerely, LV & Jan
Dear Friends: It is so hard for a Mother and Father to have to let one of their children go to be with the man upstairs, there is all ways a spot in your hearts that will for ever be that kids place that no one else can fill it. Just know that our hearts have gone out to you in this time. It opened my heart to you I think I know how you are felling. May God help you heal.
Dear Steph and Family, My sympathies and prayers for all of you during this time. Boney was one of the kindest people I know. I know words cannot heal any of your pain at this time. Please just know that you are all loved.
Faye and I would like to express our deepest sympathies in the passing of Jim. Our thoughts and pray go out to you Step and all of your family.
Heartfelt prayers have been said for the family…the memories will remain forever.
I am so sorry for your loss, Boney was an incredible man and will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and our community!! He always had a smile and brought joy to everyone!! Heaven gained an amazing man, may God give you all strength to get through this difficult time! Thoughts and prayers to all of you!!
I know that there are no words of comfort that can ease the pain right now in losing an extraordinary person like Jimmy. I will treasure all the wonderful memories growing up with him and how he always made me laugh. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you. Take care!
I was one who was privileged enough to be in "Jimmy’s" class of 1986. His personality was one of a kind. Playing the trumpet, we sat beside one another in the band room. No matter what the circumstances, he faced it with humor! He was our "class clown" who everyone loved to be around. He was always the "chosen one" at school dances because of his jitterbug skills! He has left a legacy that will always be remembered. May The Good Lord comfort you with precious memories during this most difficult time. We share in your loss. Sherry Williams
I was so surprised, and so very sorry, to hear of Jim’s passing. He made City Council meetings enjoyable, and was just such a good, all-around guy, and he will be greatly missed. My sympathy to the family; know God has him in the palm of His hand.
Jim was a great guy and will truely be missed. My deepest sympathies to Steph and the rest of his family.
May you be comforted, granted peace, & may happy memories replace all sadness!! Lifting you in prayers!
my prayers are with the family. this is just heart breaking.
Our prays to the whole Bonebright family and friends from my entire family. Gregory and. Kathleen Langbehn. It is tough to lose a family member for we juust lost a 42 yr old nephew last week and his funeral is Wednesday.
Our Sympathy to the families and friends of Boney the community of Miller and Hand County. When Boney was around there was always laughter. Share the memories and hang on to the memories ����
Our thoughts and prayer are with you and all family during this very difficult time.
Prayers to the family and many friends that knew Boney. It was a pleasure to get to know him through the years and he will be missed.
Sending love and aloha during this most unimaginable tragedy.
Sending my condolences to Stephanie and the entire family. May God help you through these tough times. Always in my thoughts and prayers. He was truly a great man and inspiration to all.
Sending our condulences to everyone, Boney was a good man and will be missed.
So sorry for the loss of a great guy. My thoughts and prayers to Bonebright family. He definitely made high school interesting! Love to you all
So sorry that Jim was taken out of your life so soon.
Sorry to here of the loss of a very Great Man he always had something to say so you would have a comment back. He is going to be missed A LOT. Dr. Dick and Kathy Splichal
Steph and family, so sorry to hear about Boney. One of a kind and will be missed.
Stephanie and family, My deepest sympathy to you in the loss. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Sincerely, Chanda Engel
Stephanie my prayers and love go out to you, stay strong
Such an awesome man! My thoughts and prayers for the family. God gained a very special angel!
Sympathy to all the family of boney
The last time I saw and spoke to Boney he had just made a pork loin for Ron Blachfords class reunion. He asked me to try it and tell me what I thought. Of course it was delicious! He then proceeded to tell me he was trying to decide if he should be open after the bars closed on the 4th. Told me that he just had so much fun getting to know my boys last year when he did this! Boney made a point getting to know everyone "personally"! He will never be forgotten! Prayers & Hugs to all of his family…
Thoughts and prayers to you all. XoxoX
Truly a one-of-kind!! What an awesome man raised by an awesome family!!
Very sorry for your loss. Thoughts and prayers for everyone.
Was such a great guy always a smile when he seen ya he was truly one of a kind. My thoughts an prayers to the whole family
We are very sorry for your loss.
We are very thankful for the time the Lord shared the life of Boney with us.
Well done, good and faithful servant.
Words cannot express the sorrow we feel for your entire family. He sounded like a wonderful son, brother, husband, and friend to many. Our thoughts will be with you all on Friday. Hugs and prayers.
Words cannot express the sorrow you are all going through. Hearts are breaking and tears are falling. The community of Miller has lost a special person who was a friend to all. We send our prayers and sympathy to you in your loss. May God uphold you and give you strength. He is always there!
You were always kind and had a smile that would light up a room. You had a big heart and always helped people that needed it. You will sorely be missed but everyone that knew you will remember the person you were and know that you will be watching over all of the ones that love and care about.
Ashley I am so sorry about your Dad I didn’t know him but sounds like a wonderful man. My thoughts and prayers are with you Ashley and your family at this sad time. May God help you all get through this. All my love, Linda Knoll
Clair and Marlys I just heard about Jim and wanted to let you know that my thoughts and prayers are with you all. He has been a loveable character since he was born. He loved life and his was a life well lived. IT is not how long we live, but how we live That life.
i was very sorry to hear this news. My prayers for family and friends.
Our deepest sympathy to the entire Bonebright family.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Steph and all of Jim’s family as they remember and celebrate Jim’s life. May God comfort you with your memories. Bob and Sharon Taylor
Steph I’m so sorry to hear what happened. My deepest sympathies. He was a great guy and he’ll be missed by many!
Steph, I am so sorry to find out about your loss.Please stay strong and may peace be with you.
To the family and Friends of Jim Bonebright: Kathy and myself are saddened to hear about Jim. Once again it shows us that none of us know when our time will come and so we need to be ready at all times with our God, family, friends and our integrity. We will keep all of you in our thoughts and prayers and may God be with all of you in your time of need. Your friends through Christ, Ralph and Kathy.
Truly a life well lived. Jim certainly raised the bar for the rest of us! An inspiration to anyone paying attention. He will not be forgotten, those who leave their mark on others hearts never are!
What a wonderful life story. Jean Ann and I are sorry for your loss.
Ashley and family, I’m so sorry for the loss of your dad , please know we are thinking of you during this time. Hold the memories of your dad close to our heart and he will be with you always …… xxoo Brenda Curtis
He will be truly missed by my family and I was always happy that he threw a pizza party for my son’s birthdayHe was a true Christian brother the only good man in town that respected me and didn’t care if I was American Indian I like them he was honest with his family what’s the best God bless you my prayers for your folks
I remember very well the days of Jim playing trumpet in the band. More importantly, I remember Jim’s smile and fun personality. How fun it was to have crossed paths with him in the last couple of years. He came up to me to make sure I knew he was and although it had been many, many years, he visited with me as if it had been only yesterday. This speaks volumes about Jim’s character. I extend my sympathy to all of you and can only hope that the great memories will, in time, bring you peace.
Prayers for all the Bonebright family.
Steph My heart breaks for you and all of your family with the loss of someone so dear! Know that you are in the thoughts and prayers of our family!
It has been 6 years ago since we completed the "new Water Main" and "new Water Tower" project with the City of Miller. Boney treated us like he knew us and made us (and our crew) feel welcome in the town of Miller. We enjoyed our time spent in Miller on this project and will always remember the huge positive impact Boney made on all of us. We are still in shock over the news and have been praying for Boney’s family and for the City of Miller. Thank for your smiles and laughter Boney…..you will never be forgotten. Rest in Peace.
It was truly a schock to receive the news that you passed away Jimmy, I was glad I got to know you back in 1987-1988 when I was living in Wessington with Arn & Joan Domke Best Regards Louie
So sorry to hear about Boney, my thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time. I just wanted to share a couple great memories I had with Boney during high school. One night we decided to change the rocks on the big hill to "86" and when we were running back down the hill Boney fell and tumbled for about 50 ft. He just got up laughing and we told him we thought he was going to roll all the way back into Wessington. Another memory is Boney brought in a cassette of a new band he said was awesome. We all listened to it and liked it, but said they will be a one hit wonder. Boney laughed and said we will see. The band?? Bon Jovi. Many other great memories like eating tractor tire donuts and watching MTV in the senior room and comparing black and blue marks from football. He will be dearly missed!! Brian Troth-Class of 1986
The dates from the beginning to the end….11/14/67 – 07/10/67 are the dates placed on his tombstone. What matters most of all is the DASH between those years. This dash represents the time spent on this earth, and now those who knew and loved him know what that little line is worth….. It matters not how much he owned, the cars..the…house..the cash. What matters is how he lived and loved and how he spent his Dash. Boney considered what was true and real and tried to understand the way others would feel. He was quick to show appreciation, to cause happiness not strife and he dearly loved the people in his life. He treated others with respect and always wore a smile. As his Euology is read, with his life’s actions to rehash, We will be proud of the things they say about how he spent his DASH.
We are so sorry for your loss. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
We’re thinking of you at this sad time.
Our prayers are with you during this time, and with your parents, and your families. We truly regret that we cannot be in SD with you today for Jim’s service, but know that you are in our thoughts and hearts. Neil and Judy
We want to extend our deepest sympathy in this time of great loss. We pray that God will comfort your family in a very special way.