On April 17, 1912, Tom Robinson Bonner and Annie Laura Willard, daughter of Benjamin Willard and Nancy Elizabeth Yates, were married by Rev. E. J. Browne at her parents' home. Having been born January 30, 1892 at Lakes Chapel, she was the older sister of May, Tom's brother Paul's wife. They first made their home in Bonnerville where Leslie Lee, Annie Laura "Baby Doll," and Edd Robinson were born. By 1921, Tom and Laura had moved to Fairfield to what became the southwest corner of Highways 75 and 84. The house there was an old one with a hall down the middle and a well inside the back portion. Both Hope and John recalled one time when they were visiting Aunt Laura and Uncle Tom as children. Uncle Tom had gone to work and Aunt Laura was at the store. John, Hope, and Leslie, Baby Doll, and Edd were playing. As John told it, "We was out there and Miss Irene Casey called in. We was running around making noise and she had some kids asleep. They had an apartment there in that old house… She called Aunt Laura. She [Aunt Laura] tore them up. She said, 'I ought to whip y'all.' We was all together."
They lived in the barn on that property while rebuilding the house. Their fourth child and third son, Billie Hugh, was born here. Tom rented the old J. P. Robinson drugstore building at the southeast corner of Commerce and College in Fairfield and opened a general mercantile store which they operated for thirty-six years. When Tom carried the mail between Mexia, Teague and Fairfield for four years, he also ran a "hack" along the route providing rides to those who needed them. Tom also served as Commissioner of Precinct 1, Freestone County for six years. During all this time, he continued in both farming and cattle raising and Laura operated the store. After the birth of Tuck, their youngest child, in 1935, Laura commented that she hoped to live to see him grown. She thought that at almost 43, she was too old to have a child. They used every opportunity and every spare dime to purchase land. In addition to their five children, they made room in their home for Maggie Bonner, Tom's aunt, and for Lizzie Willard, Laura's mother. After Tom's death, Aunt Sister, Florence Willard Childs, Laura's sister, made her home with Laura for the rest of her life.

Laura was born, raised, and died a Baptist; Tom joined the Presbyterian Church as an adult. When they both attended, they went to the Baptist church. Laura was a member of Fairfield Chapter No. 331, Order of the Eastern Star and served as Worthy Matron. She served as Deputy Grand Matron under Worthy Matron Cynthia Mae Watts. On February 9, 1973, Laura, along with her sister-in-law Clara Bonner, received a fifty-year-membership certificate and pin at a dinner attended by over 90 people. Laura also belonged to the History Club and served as treasurer for the Moody-Bradley House restoration project.. Laura died at her home in Fairfield on October 2, 1981.

Laura strove to be a lady. She knew how a lady acted and did her best to adhere to those rules. Her expectations for behavior on the part of her children and grandchildren were set high and met. She also worked hard. She attended school at Lakes Chapel and could play the piano a little bit but always wanted to do better. Her youngest son recalled, "Mama would go to Dallas to Oliver and Company to buy plow points and other hardware for the store. When the sharecroppers couldn't set the cultivators, Mama would go out and set them for them." Although she also ran the store, Laura epitomized a great homemaker. An excellent cook, her children and grandchildren recall: coconut cake (Tom's favorite); pineapple cake (Hugh's favorite); corn meal dumplings; fried ham. An excellent seamstress, she also knitted and crocheted. Laura had a penchant for hats; she wore them often and owned hundreds. She also wore high heels almost all the time. An excellent shot, she could take her pistol and make a tin can roll across the yard. Laura loved lace, frills, etc; imagine her dismay that her only daughter did not and her thrill that her granddaughter Sue did. Even though Laura drank "Dr. Pepper" and Tom enjoyed "Coca Cola," they had common goals and were true partners. We always got a chuckle at hearing her say, "Now, T. R…." or "I just told T. R…." Tom didn't drink coffee and Laura didn't drink tea. Each morning they made a pot of each for breakfast. Laura used a liquid soap called "Lux" to wash things by hand and often said, "Baby, let's just Lux those out." One of Laura's favorite expressions: "Bless Johnny if…." Both Tom and Laura did their best to support anyone needing help.

[from The Fairfield Recorder]
Laura Bonner
Funeral services for Laura Willard Bonner were held at Kibler-Capps Funeral Home Chapel on Oct. 3, 1981 with Rev. Claude Decelle officiating. Interment was beside her husband in Bonner Cemetery.
A life-long resident of Freestone County, Annie Laura Willard was born Dec. 30, 1892 in the Lake's Chapel Community. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Nancy Elizabeth Yates Willard. She died at her home in Fairfield on Oct. 2, 1981 after a lengthy illness. She married Tom Robinson Bonner on April 17, 1912 and they made their home in the Bonnerville community before moving to Fairfield in 1918. They operated Bonner's Grocery Store here until his death in 1961.
Mrs. Bonner was a member of First Baptist Church and a former Sunday School teacher. She also held membership in the Fairfield History Club and served as treasurer of the Moody-Bradley House Restoration. She was a 61 year member and Past Matron of Fairfield Chapter No. 331, Order of the Eastern Star.
She is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Forrest (Babe) Wood and three sons, Edd Bonner, Hugh Bonner, and Tom Bonner, all of Fairfield. One son, Dr. L. L. Bonner, preceded her in death last March. Other survivors include ten grandchildren: Sally Awalt, Ann Epps, Andy Bonner, Bill Bonner, Frank Bonner and Sara Wren of Fairfield; Leslie R. Bonner of Dallas; Sue Wilson of San Jose, California; Dr. F. E. (Buddy) Wood, Jr. of Hattiesburg, Miss.; Mike Bonner of Tyler and twenty great-grandchildren. Also surviving are two sisters, Florence Childs and Mattie McAdams of Fairfield and three brothers, Vernon Willard and Tommie Willard of Fairfield and Joe Willard of Dallas.