John L. Bonee, Esq.

John L. Bonee, Esq. 89, loving husband of the late M. Elaine (Sheridan) Bonee, died peacefully, Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at Harford Hospital. He was born September 26, 1921 in Hartford and was the son of the late Hartford City Court Judge John L. Bonee (Sr.) and Helen (Egan) Bonee.

John L. Bonee was a graduate of local Hartford schools, Hartford Public High School, Trinity College and, like his father before him, Yale University Law School. He was a proud WW II, US Navy veteran, serving as a Lieutenant (j.g.) in the South Pacific. He was admitted to the Connecticut Bar Association in 1950 and served as a practicing attorney in Hartford ever since, representing thousands of individuals throughout the State of Connecticut by whom he was much beloved. Through the years his law partners have been John R. Buck, Anson T. McCook, Edward H. Kenyon, Burton A. Greenspan, Harry N. Mazadoorian, his son, John L. Bonee III, Eric H. Rothauser and Jay B. Weintraub. He was elected and served as a member of Hartford’s Court of Common Council from 1951-1955, he served as a member of the Hartford Redevelopment Agency from 1955-1965, and he was Clerk to the Connecticut Judiciary Committee, Connecticut General Assembly, 1957. He was extremely active in Republican politics and was nominated as the Republican candidate for Probate Judge in 1960 and US Congress in 1966. He was a member of the Connecticut Constitutional Convention of 1965.

Known for his athleticism, he was considered one of Larry Amann’s best swimmers at Hartford Public High School in 1939 winning a state championship. He was class president for both his high school class and Trinity College class. At Trinity he was known as a football and track star and his yearbook referred to him as the “prototype of Charles Atlas” where he was awarded most popular and best athlete and elected to Medusa, the college’s judicial court.

After his political involvement he continued his dedication to public service and especially the needs of the City of Hartford. He remained active on the Hartford Public Library Board of Directors (Pres. 1976-1977) and he was elected President of the Hartford chapter of Rotary International. He long served on the board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hartford and The Salvation Army. Dedicated to his Alma Mater, Trinity College, he gave tireless hours of volunteer time to Trinity, receiving the Trinity Club of Hartford’s first Person of the Year Award and was elected President of Trinity’s National Alumni Association from 1968-1970. One of his most proud moments was when he was inducted into the Hartford Public High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. An active supporter of St. Joseph Cathedral Parish, he was married there to his lifelong spouse and true love, Elaine Sheridan in 1946. John and Elaine supported Hartford and their wonderful extended family throughout the entirety of their lives first from their old neighborhoods in the North and West ends and then on Terry Road.

He is survived by a son, John L. Bonee III, Esq. and wife, Jeanette of West Hartford, a daughter, Diane Sheridan Murphy and husband, Ryan of Green River, Vermont, a son, Philip M. Bonee and wife, Valerie of West Hartford, a daughter, Lisa Bonee Arbues and husband, Miguel of Fairfield and a son, Andrew D. Bonee and wife, Julie Anne of Wellesley, Massachusetts, 14 grandchildren, John Alexander Bonee, Johanna Murphy, Elizabeth Murphy Lewis and husband, Scott, Emily Ryan Murphy, Alaina Murphy, Susan Bonee, Melissa Bonee, Jennifer Bonee, Ian Michael Arbues, Ana Isabel Arbues, Caroline Bonee, Katherine Bonee, Andrew Bonee, Jr, and Dane Bonee, a sister-in-law, Marie Bonee of Wethersfield, as well as many loving nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brothers and a sister-in-law, Joseph Bonee and wife, Marguerite and Peter A. Bonee. He will be sadly missed by his loving family and many friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday at 10:00 am at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, 140 Farmington Avenue, Hartford. Everyone is asked to please go directly to the church. The burial will be in Mt. St. Benedict Cemetery, Bloomfield with full military honors. Calling hours are Friday from 4:00 to 8:00 pm at the Molloy Funeral Home, 906 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford. Funeral arrangements by the D'Esopo Funeral Chapel. In lieu of flowers contributions in John’s memory may be made to the Trustees of Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT, 06106 or to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford, 170 Sigourney Street, Hartford, CT, 06105. For on line expressions of sympathy please visit www.desopo.com.