| Charles Robert "Bob" Bonar, 86, of Harrisville, West Virginia, passed away July 26, 2008, as a result of an automobile accident.
Mr. Bonar was born April 24, 1922, in Mansfield, Ohio, to Eustace I. Bonar and Alvaretta Montgomery Bonar.
Mr. Bonar lived with Mr. and Mrs. H.G. Raiguel and attended elementary school in Harrisville. He graduated from Mansfield (Ohio) Senior High School in 1941, completed Aviation Cadet Army Air Force training as Second Lieutenant in 1943, and was a graduate of the C46 School, Georgefield, Ill., with Combat Cargo Rank First Lieutenant. During World War II, he served as a U.S. Army Air Corps Aviation Instructor and piloted C46s in the China, Burma, India Theater. Upon completion of his military career, Mr. Bonar returned to his academic career to graduate from the Cincinnati College of Embalming, in 1947.
Upon graduation from mortuary science school, Guy Raiguel of the Raiguel Funeral Home, Harrisville, WV, employed Mr. Bonar. He purchased the Raiguel Funeral Home in 1950 and served as owner and funeral director until his retirement in 1999. He has continued to serve the families of the Harrisville, Ritchie County, area in a part-time capacity.
Mr. Bonar was a member of and served in many capacities with a variety of organizations, including the St. Luke's United Methodist Church, where he was a Sunday School teacher, the National Funeral Directors Association, the West Virginia Funeral Directors Association, where he was named Funeral Director of the Year for 2000, Charter Member of the Harrisville Volunteer Fire Department, Harrisville Lions Club, where he was named District 29L Lion of the Year, VFW Ritchie-Harris Post 3554, Charter Member of the Ritchie County Chamber of Commerce, Charter Member of the Ritchie County Jaycees, where he was named Man of the Year in 1954, American Legion Post of Cairo, W.Va., Academy of Professional Service Practice since 1978, Organizational Charter Member of the Air and Space Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., Life Member of the China, Burma, India Veterans Association Inc., and Life Member of the Air Force Association and the HUMP Pilots Association.
Mr. Bonar is survived by one son, Robert G. Bonar and his wife, Karen Hoskins Bonar of Grantsville, WV; one daughter, Barbara Lois Hadley, and her husband, John, of Marietta, OH; three grandsons, Robert Franklin Bonar, of Harrisville, Michael Andrew Bonar and his wife, Kelly, of Huntington, WV and Matthew Thomas Bonar of Scott Depot, WV; and one granddaughter, Lois Hadley of Columbus, OH.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Bonar was preceded in death by his first wife, Virginia Lou Hardbarger Bonar in 1993; his second wife, Mildred Williamson Williams Bonar in 2008; and two brothers, Lloy D. Bonar, M.D., and Martin C. Bonar.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, Harrisville, with the Rev. John Frum officiating. Interment will immediately follow the service at the Harrisville IOOF Cemetery.
Friends may call from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at Raiguel Funeral Home, Harrisville, and 10-11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Luke's United Methodist Church.
At the request of the family, to honor Charles Robert Bonar, memorials may be made to the H.G. Hardbarger Scholarship Fund, c/o Parkersburg Area Community Grant Foundation, P.O. Box 1762, Parkersburg, WV, 26102, or the Harrisville Volunteer Fire Department, 612 E. Main St., Harrisville, WV 26362.
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