Obituaries

JB Bonine

JB Bonine, 94, Chattanooga, railroad man, handyman, and family man died on Tuesday, July 23, 2013.The J and the B didn't stand for anything. In fact, he once tried to clarify to Social Security on an official form that his name was "J (only) B (only)" and had to deal with a year of mail addressed to Jonly Bonly Bonine.JB was born to Ben and Cora Bonine (both deceased) in Sweetwater, Tenn., in 1918 and was the oldest of six children. He and his siblings, Charles "Tag", Harold, Helen, David, (all deceased) and Ben Jr. were close throughout their lives and did their best to create a Bonine dynasty in Chattanooga.When he was 20, he eloped with his sweetheart, Mildred nee Sturdivant (deceased). She always said it was because he was painfully shy and he said it was because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Regardless of the reason for the elopement, it was obviously a great idea as they had a wonderful life together for 61 years.He served with a railroad unit in Germany during World War II and upon his return began working at Southern Railroad as a boilermaker. He loved his family and cross-country RV trips with his wife and close friends. He was an incredibly handy man and used his skills to help rebuild Edgewood Baptist Church when it burned down.He enjoyed working in his extensive home garage shop. Regardless of how many tools he had, it was not uncommon to find he had raided his wife's kitchen for that "perfect something" he needed. The chaos that ensued was the stuff of legend.His is survived by youngest brother, Ben Bonine; and his son, Larry; three grandchildren; six great-grandchildren;m and one great-great-grandchild.Memorial services will be held 1 p.m. Saturday in the funeral home chapel.Visit www.heritgefh.com to share words of comfort with the family and view the memorial tribute.Arrangements are by Heritage Funeral Home and Crematory, Battlefield Parkway.

Published July 26, 2013

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