Published in Times Leader on Sept. 28, 2006

Robert Gingell Bonnice, 78, left this world peacefully on Tuesday at Beverly Healthcare, Tunkhannock, where he had been a resident since 2004.
Born in Kingston, Nov. 16, 1927, he was a son of the late William E. and Dorothea (Gingell) Bonnice.
Bob was a 1945 graduate of Kingston High School, where he played on the basketball team.
Following graduation, at 18 he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Service.
He was a Seaman First Class during World War II aboard the USS Eversole.
Prior to his retirement in 1987, he was a partner with his brother Herb in W.E. Bonnice & Sons, the Forty Fort market founded by their father and well known throughout the area for their fine quality smoked meats and cold cuts.
He also established the original Bonnice’s Car Wash on Wyoming Avenue, Forty Fort.
In his younger years, Bob was active in local bowling leagues. He was also an avid sportsman.
He was a member of the Dream Mile Club, the Lower Toby Sportsman’s Club; and the BSB Sportsman’s Club.
He spent endless summers fishing the Susquehanna River from his cottage at Pebble Beach in Mehoopany, and after his retirement, he relocated to Lake Murray in Gilbert, S.C., to pursue his lifelong passion on a year-round basis.
In 2001, with the onset of health problems, he returned to this area to live in Tunkhannock with his daughter and son-in-law Linda and Peter Sokoloski.
He was a member of the Forty Fort United Methodist Church.
He was also past member of Wyoming Masonic Lodge, Masonic Consistory and Irem Temple.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley (Thomas) Bonnice, who died in 1983. Surviving are his daughter Linda Sokoloski, Tunkhannock; sons Robert and David, Montrose; brothers William, Nashua, N.H.; Herbert, Kingston; sister Jennifer Sangston, Dallas; grandsons Sean and Kyle Bonnice.
Funeral services will he held at 11 a.m. Friday from the Hugh B. Hughes & Son Funeral Home Inc., 1044 Wyoming Ave., Forty Fort, with the Rev. Donald Roberts, pastor of the Forty Fort United Methodist Church, officiating.
Interment will be in Denison Cemetery, Swoyersville.
Friends may call today from 6 to 8 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Resident Activity Fund, Beverly Healthcare, 30 Virginia Drive, Tunkhannock, PA 18657; or the Alzheimer’s Association, 63 N. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701.
Published in Times Leader on Sept. 28, 2006
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