Bonner, John
January 17, 2008
The Late John Bonner
The death of John Bonner, Drumlonagher, Donegal Town, which took place in the Donegal Hospice in Letterkenny after a lengthy illness was learned of with deep regret in the Donegal Town and Finn Valley localities where he was very well known.
Aged 88, the late Mr Bonner was predeceased by his late wife, Cissie, seven years ago and by his son, Sean, three years ago.
A native of the Glen area of Crossroads, Killygordan, the late John Bonnor came to live at Finadoose, outside Donegal Town, in 1954 before the family moved to Drumlonagher in 1972. A blacksmith by trade, his talents were always in demand in his adopted locality and he was a familiar figure for many years in Donegal Town as he made his way daily to and from his work in his blacksmith's shop in the town of the Four Masters.
Being very interested in farming himself, John Bonner knitted well into farming community of Donegal Town and area and in days gone by his main area of work was shoeing horses for work on the local farms. As the years progressed and motorisation came in being, John continued to serve the needs of the farmers in mending ploughs and other farming implements used by them in their daily lives.
One of nature's gentlemen, the late John Bonner was very unassuming and possessed great wit and humour. A very friendly and kind man, a great neighbour and always mindful of those less fortunate then himself, he was a great raconteur an could tell many great stories of his life growing up in the Finn Valley as a young man. He always loved to reminisce about his formative years and loved nothing better than to see his friends from "through the Gap" calling to his welcoming home to fill him in on what was happening around his native Glen area of Crossroads and the Finn Valley in general.
John had many interests in life including GAA and with his son, Seamus now retired from the Gardai, being a member of many successful Donegal senior teams for many years, he always hand the best interests of the team in mind. Donegal's All-Ireland success of 1992, although Seamus had retired at that time, had a great place in his memory and there were many arguments about the game in the Bonner household down the years. With his great friend and neighbour, Danny McMemamin and his sons Liam and Sean being ardent Donegal supporters as well, opinions were divided on many occasions about team performances but the Sam Maguire cup was a very welcome visitor to Bonner's in 1992 when it was brought to the house to a visit.
The sudden and unexpected death of his son, Sean, three years ago left a great void in the Bonner Household. Sean was a gifted mechanic and farmer and hundreds of people would have called to have vehicular repairs done in Sean's garage which adjoined the house. This gave John a chance to meet and greet many people and catch up with all that was happening after his retirement and Sean's untimely death was a sad blow to him. However, he continued on with life in his own inimitable manner and accepted that it was God's way.
The attendance at the removal of his remains from the Hospice to his home at Drumlonagher was large and representative and people travelled long distances to be present at the wake and at the funeral which took place to Clar Chapel.
Requiem Mass was celebrated by Rev. Fr Willie Peoples, P.P. Townawilly, who, in his homily, referred to the many fine qualities which John possessed. He talked about how he lived his life soley for his wife and family and about his good neighbourly qualities which saw him become a valued member of his adopted community down the years. Fr Peoples was assisted by Rev. Fr Seamus Daggins, Fr. Francis Ferry and Canon McShane. John was laid to rest along side his late wife and son in the adjoining Churchyard at Clar.
He is survived by his son, Liam, Drumlonagher and Seamus, Dublin by his daughter-in-law, Kathy; by his grandchildren, Annette, Enda, Seamus and Kevin; by his sisters, Nellie and Mary, Dreenan, Ballybofey; by his brother-in-law, Peter and by niece, Margaret. He is also survived by nephews, cousins and other relatives to whom the sympathy of the community is extended.
By Noel Slevin
Courtesy of the Donegal Democrat
17th January 2008
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