Jeanette Bonny King

"Jeanette Bonny King was born in Madison County, the ninth of eleven children. When she was in the fifth grade at Waco Elementary School, Mr. Tom Bonny was the band leader and brought seven little Bonnys to march in the band to dedicate the new Irvine bridge. This was the first time she became acquainted with Estill County. She played the clarinet, which was almost as long as she was tall. Years later, she attended the dedication of the Joseph Proctor Memorial Bridge with her daughter and grandchildren.

When Jeanette was 10 years old, her 19 year old brother was killed when he fell off a bridge in western Kentucky where he was working for his Uncle Tom Clouse during its construction. The same year, the US government told her father their property at Moberly was needed for the new location of the Bluegrass Army Depot and he would have to move his family. Her world was turned upside down, not knowing what the rest of her life would hold. In 1943, the family moved to Ravenna where her Dad worked as a foreman at the L&N Railroad yard.

Although Jeanette attended most of her high school years in Wisconsin, along with her twin brother, Gene, at the Metropolitan Church School Association High School, she went to Irvine High School her sophomore year, and still enjoys attending their yearly reunion and visiting with friends she made then. While in Wisconsin, she studied the stars and learned that “the darker the night, the brighter they shine”. She also remembers seeing the Northern Lights which could be seen very clearly there and how beautiful they were. She still feels that ”Morning is a miracle that happens every day.”

After returning to Estill County after high school, Jeanette became a telephone operator (before dial phones in Estill County when they used switchboards and you picked up the phone and asked to speak to whomever you wanted to call and they “plugged you in”). She worked as a telephone operator from 1948 until dial phones were introduced in 1959-1960.

As her life moved on, she married Joseph Maurice King, an Estill County boy (who is also an Estill County Hall of Honor recipient), and had a family of her own. She believed things were so good, that it was the best anyone could wish for. She had “three little Kings”, which brought the family size to five. Jeanette is the wonderful mother of three, the amazing grandmother of eight, and the incredible great-grandmother of one.

Along with her husband, Joseph M. King, she was the owner/operator of Jen’s Fabric and Singer Sewing Machine Shop, 1967-1984. Through the fabric shop, she cooperated with the Home Economics teachers at Irvine High School, Estill County Middle School and Estill County High School to supply patterns, fabric and notions for class sewing projects. Jeanette travelled extensively with her husband, Maurice, to nuclear test sites across the US and Canada and remains an honorary member of the Bluegrass Chapter of the Health Physics Society.

She supplied transportation to and from Oneida Academy and Asbury College for eight years for Christina Dlamini, her sister’s adopted child from South Africa.

While her children were young, she was involved as a lay leader with Methodist Youth Fellowship at Irvine United Methodist Church (1960s). In the 1990s, she served as an adult lay leader of the Irvine United Methodist church and attended the Annual Conference for several years. She also sang in the church choir for many years. She still remains a loyal member of the Irvine United Methodist Church, and the O.P. Smith Sunday School Class, today as she arrives early on Sundays to meet and greet the congregation.

Jeanette has always been involved in organizations and activities in Estill County and is still an active member of many different organizations in Estill County.:

She is a Past President of the Irvine Grade School PTA (late 50s –early 60s).

She has been a volunteer with the annual Mountain Mushroom Festival since its beginning.

She has be donating her time and love as Mrs. Santa Claus for the annual Christmas parade and Elizabeth Witt Christmas Party for 22 years.

She is a Past President of Irvine-Ravenna Woman’s Club and a current member.

She is a member of Garden Club, now “Meet-and-Eat”.

She is a long-time Kiwanis member and along-time member of the Estill County Homemakers and the Sugar and Spice Homemakers Club. She sang in the state Homemakers Chorus for several years.

She has been a volunteer with Hospice of the Bluegrass and volunteered as a reading tutor at Irvine Elementary School and Estill Springs Elementary School in the late 80s and early 90s.

She is a Member of Eastern Star.

She has collected money in the neighborhood for Cancer research, Easter Seals, and the Heart Association.

She has been a member of the Estill County Historical and Genealogical Society for years.

She was a member of several very successful bowling teams. She bowled for years and won the Kentucky State Bowling tournament in 1975. She is a member of the National Bowling Academy.

When she was a young girl, she spent most of her time writing poems and still spends time doing so. She was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Poetry in 2002 and again in 2005 by the International Society of Poets.

In September 2011, she donated money to help the members of Charlie Company at the Ravenna Armory come home for a 4 day visit before deploying to Iraq.

She lives by the motto, ”Lord, help me remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that You and I together can’t handle.”" - From Jeanette Bonny King Estill County Hall of Honor Induction, 2011, As viewed 10/19/20 at [1].

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Jeanette Bonny King