Harold "Hal" Paul Bonus

Hal died peacefully at home on September 18th, surrounded by his loving family. He was the beloved husband of Wendy for 61 years, dear father of Justin (died 2014) and Suzanne, father-in-law of Raymonde Lievens and Gary Briggs, much loved grandfather of Charlie, Jack, Chloe and Jasper, step-grandfather of Wade and Claire and dear brother of Betty Short.

Hal was born in Brussels, Belgium, immediately before World War Two broke out. In May 1940 the family was forced to leave as the Germans began their invasion of France and the Low countries. Hal – a baby – was evacuated from Dunkirk with his mother and sister, while their father had to travel separately to the coast. They were eventually reunited in England, his father joined the British Army, and they spent the war years in England, returning to Belgium in 1945.

In 1951 the family immigrated to Canada, where Hal’s father led the British-Canadian Trade Commission in Toronto. With his younger brother Hal attended De La Salle school, and whilst not an enthusiastic student, he excelled at sports such as football and hockey. Tennis was a major sport in the Bonus family, and in 1957 Hal and his father won the Ontario Father and Son tennis trophy. Scouting was also an important part of his life and he rose to become a Queen’s Scout and attended the World Scout Jamboree in Niagara in 1955. He spent summers at Camp Kandalore in Haliburton, where a love of swimming and canoeing was born.

Hal later studied Business at Ryerson, but feeling unmotivated, at 22, he was lucky enough to be accepted into a two-year post-grad marketing training program at Dowty Industries in Cheltenham, England. There he bought his dream car – a 1939 MG – and met John Foster, who became a lifelong friend and who introduced him to Wendy, in her last year at Nottingham University. The two were married in Toronto in 1964. His job moved him and the family several times – to Montreal, where he and Wendy adopted Justin, to Smiths Falls, where Suzanne was born, and to North Bay, where they enjoyed an outdoorsy existence. Back in Toronto in 1979 they settled in Leaside, which was a terrific place for young families, and Hal continued to play old-timer hockey, baseball and tennis until his hips gave out.

Hal retired from PetroCanada in 1997 and he and Wendy enjoyed travel, often combined with birding, hiking or cycling adventures, and Hal took up golfing in a serious way, joining the Thornhill Club and eventually moving to Thornhill. The advent of grandchildren in the early 2000s kept him and Wendy close to the city. The death of Justin from cancer in 2014 was a terrible blow, but he was comforted by watching Justin’s children grow up and exhibit many of their Dad’s strengths.

Apart from golf, his true passion, Hal enjoyed birding, and had an impressive life list with memorable trips to Brazil, the Galapagos, and elsewhere, and during winters spent in South Florida he volunteered as a naturalist guide at Corkscrew Swamp, an Audubon sanctuary. Very much a family man, he was happiest surrounded by his grandchildren and encouraging them, especially in their sports endeavours.

Hal was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension in late 2023, and was forced to use supplemental oxygen for the rest of his life. His inability to breathe curtailed his physical activities but he still enjoyed sports vicariously through TV and became an expert cryptic crossword puzzle solver. Despite his illness, Hal experienced the great joy last summer of walking his beloved daughter, Suzanne, up the aisle to marry her second husband and love of her life, Gary Briggs. Hal and Gary had bonded over their mutual love of the outdoors, especially hiking and biking.

He will be greatly missed.

A Service of remembrance will be held at 8088 Yonge Street on Monday, September 29th, 2025 at 1:00pm. Following the service there will be a reception. Hal's service will be livestreamed for those who are unable to attend, please see link below.

Flowers gratefully declined. Donations in Hal’s memory may be made to Ontario Nature OR to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection if so desired.