Bomette "Bonnie" Shine

Bomette “Bonnie” Carney Shine went to be with the Lord on the morning of Sunday, January 7, 2018 following a protracted battle with lung cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Bonnie was predeceased by her husband, Lt. Col. Anthony C. Shine (b. May 20, 1939), a United States Air Force fighter pilot who was Missing in Action in the Vietnam War from Dec 2, 1972 until his remains were repatriated and interred at Arlington National Cemetery in October, 1996. Bonnie was also predeceased by her longtime companion Clifford A. Butterfield (Sept 25, 1943 – Dec 7, 2015), known to his beloved grandchildren as “Poppy.” She is also predeceased by her father and mother, her sister Margaret Edith Carney and her brother Joseph Carney. Bonnie is survived by her three children, Anthony W. Shine (Collette), Colleen C. Shine, and Shannon C. Shine (Ellen) and her brothers Michael Carney (Donna), David Carney (Gisele), Wayne Carney (Patty) and Kevin Caney (Michelle).

Born Bomette Margo Carney on October 7, 1942 in Ogdensburg, NY to Joseph and Margaret (Young) Carney, Bonnie attended grade school in Pope Mills, NY, skipping 5th grade and graduating from Morristown Central School in 1959. Following her marriage to Anthony C. Shine of Pleasantville, NY on March 5, 1960, Bonnie traveled far and wide as a military wife, setting up homes, raising children, studying and often working as they moved from Anchorage, AK to Selma, AL; Wichita, KS to Plattsburgh, NY; Okinawa, Japan to Myrtle Beach, SC. After Tony was listed as Missing in Action, Bonnie moved the family to NC, where she completed her B.S. degree from UNC Chapel Hill.

She returned to Myrtle Beach, SC for 20 years, working as an advertising executive with Coast magazine and dabbling in real estate. After the destruction of her home in Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Bonnie persevered and rebuilt. Always up for a challenge, she also ran the Miss B. Haven (Miscue) lounge – at the time the largest female managed nightclub south of the Mason Dixon line. She put her sons through college at Colgate University and her daughter through Wellesley College. Then Bonnie and Clifford enjoyed nearly 25 years of companionship at Black Lake, NY – dairy farming, building and grand-parenting together.

In addition to raising her children, her professional life, and her deep friendships, Bonnie made significant and enduring contributions to our nation’s military and veterans and their families, as well as on behalf of abused women and children.

Of note,

• Along with her father-in-law, and later her daughter, Bonnie contributed directly and powerfully to the National League of POW/MIA Families’ (www.pow-miafamilies.org) efforts to achieve the fullest possible accounting for Americans prisoner or missing from the Vietnam War, often serving as a front line spokeswoman and advocate.

• In 1980, Bonnie was instrumental in establishing an annual United States Air Force Top Gun award, the Lt. Col. Anthony C. Shine Award to bring attention to the POW/MIA issue and honor the top U.S. fighter pilot for piloting skill as well as demonstrated character and community service. Winners have hailed from air bases across the US, England, Germany, the Philippines and Japan.

• Working to make the path less rocky for the families of today’s military casualties, Bonnie authored a 2008 guide ‘For Better or Worse’ for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (www.taps.org) which provides tips for raising children following the death of a military spouse.

• Bonnie also co-established Citizens Against Spouse Abuse (CASA) in Myrtle Beach, SC to help local battered women and children, and secured the donation of a house and land to help them transition out of abusive situations.

Bonnie Shine leaves behind a legacy in the many lives of family and friends she has influenced. We all learned from her and embrace and remember her insatiable curiosity, love of “grand adventures”, prolific flower gardens, penchant for over the top construction projects, eye for nature’s beauty captured in her own oil paintings, her sage and incisive no holds barred advice, stories of adventures in days gone by, her varied and detailed hand-crafted quilts and clothing and her voracious love of reading. Mostly we will cherish her fierce love for those dear to her.