James Bonar
James Sloan Bonar, 72, of Annandale, VA and Romney, WV passed away on Monday, June 29, 2009 at home after a valiantly fought battle with cancer. Jim was born on December 4, 1936 at Fort Hill Farm in Burlington, WV. His parents were Clyde Bonar of Belleville (Wood County), WV and Cornelia Sarah Harmison Bonar of Fort Hill Farm. Jim attended Burlington School and Keyser High School, graduating in 1954. He was in 4H, and was a member of the National Honor Society and Burlington Presbyterian Church. He attended Potomac State College, and graduated from West Virginia University in 1959, earning a BS degree in Animal Husbandry. While at WVU he enrolled in ROTC and began a lifelong passion with aviation, winning accolades as a pilot in the US Army. On campus, he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity where his father had been a charter member in the class of 1924. He was inducted into Alpha Zeta honorary and the National Block and Bridle Club.
Jim spent his military career as a fixed-wing and helicopter pilot in the US Army and Army Reserve for 31 years, retiring as a Master Pilot at the rank of Colonel, Infantry. He spent his civilian career as a soil and water conservationist, beginning with the US Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service in West Virginia, where he worked for ten years. He served an additional 19 years at USDA headquarters in Washington, DC, and spent the final nine years of his civilian career with the Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District in Virginia. Since 2002, he has devoted full time to farming, completing several significant conservation initiatives on the family farm in West Virginia.
In 1960, Jim married Molly Moss Scanlon of Romney, WV and they enjoyed 49 years of marriage. They have two children; Sarah Parker Bonar Johnson married to Randolph Glenn Johnson, Jr. of Middletown, MD and James Sloan Bonar, Jr., of Glenside, PA . Jim has two grandchildren, Parker Randolph Johnson and James Garrett Johnson of Middletown, MD. He is also survived by a sister Mary Alice Bonar Hannah and brother Charles Alvin Bonar, both of Burlington WV.
The family will receive friends at Little Meadows Farm, River Road. Thursday, July 2, from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Funeral Service will be held Friday, July 3 at 11:00AM at Romney Presbyterian Church with Rev. Barbara Johnson and the Rev. Dr. Chris Looker officiating. Interment will be in Branch Mountain Cemetery, Three Churches, WV.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Shaffer Funeral Home, Romney, WV..
The family requests donations in memory of James Sloan Bonar be made to:
Boy Scout Troop 476, Middletown, MD; Branch Mountain Cemetery, Three Churches, WV; 4H of Mineral County; Romney Presbyterian Church or the 1st Presbyterian Church of Annandale, VA.
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James Bonar
James Sloan Bonar, 72, of Annandale, VA and Romney, WV passed away on Monday, June 29, 2009 at home after a valiantly fought battle with cancer. Jim was born on December 4, 1936 at Fort Hill Farm in Burlington, WV. His parents were Clyde Bonar of Belleville (Wood County), WV and Cornelia Sarah Harmison Bonar of Fort Hill Farm. Jim attended Burlington School and Keyser High School, graduating in 1954. He was in 4H, and was a member of the National Honor Society and Burlington Presbyterian Church. He attended Potomac State College, and graduated from West Virginia University in 1959, earning a BS degree in Animal Husbandry. While at WVU he enrolled in ROTC and began a lifelong passion with aviation, winning accolades as a pilot in the US Army. On campus, he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity where his father had been a charter member in the class of 1924. He was inducted into Alpha Zeta honorary and the National Block and Bridle Club.
Jim spent his military career as a fixed-wing and helicopter pilot in the US Army and Army Reserve for 31 years, retiring as a Master Pilot at the rank of Colonel, Infantry. He spent his civilian career as a soil and water conservationist, beginning with the US Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service in West Virginia, where he worked for ten years. He served an additional 19 years at USDA headquarters in Washington, DC, and spent the final nine years of his civilian career with the Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District in Virginia. Since 2002, he has devoted full time to farming, completing several significant conservation initiatives on the family farm in West Virginia.
In 1960, Jim married Molly Moss Scanlon of Romney, WV and they enjoyed 49 years of marriage. They have two children; Sarah Parker Bonar Johnson married to Randolph Glenn Johnson, Jr. of Middletown, MD and James Sloan Bonar, Jr., of Glenside, PA . Jim has two grandchildren, Parker Randolph Johnson and James Garrett Johnson of Middletown, MD. He is also survived by a sister Mary Alice Bonar Hannah and brother Charles Alvin Bonar, both of Burlington WV.
The family will receive friends at Little Meadows Farm, River Road. Thursday, July 2, from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Funeral Service will be held Friday, July 3 at 11:00AM at Romney Presbyterian Church with Rev. Barbara Johnson and the Rev. Dr. Chris Looker officiating. Interment will be in Branch Mountain Cemetery, Three Churches, WV.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Shaffer Funeral Home, Romney, WV..
The family requests donations in memory of James Sloan Bonar be made to:
Boy Scout Troop 476, Middletown, MD; Branch Mountain Cemetery, Three Churches, WV; 4H of Mineral County; Romney Presbyterian Church or the 1st Presbyterian Church of Annandale, VA.
