Obituary for Clement Milton Bonnell III Clement Milton Bonnell 3rd died peacefully at 12:15 am on November 23, 2018, at Merit Hospital in Biloxi, MS, from complications of pneumonia. He was there to attend a family reunion in his late wife’s hometown. He had met his wife of 52 years, Alyne Lucille Eisendrath Bonnell, there at Keesler Air Force Base in 1954 and married her in 1956.
Mr. Bonnell was born in Somerville, NJ, on June 9, 1931, to Clement Milton Bonnell, Jr., and Doris Elizabeth Bush Bonnell of Plainfield NJ. He was a 1953 graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken NJ, with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in mechanical engineering. He was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and manager of the basketball team.
He and 18 Sigma Nu fraternity brothers held annual gatherings for 50 years beginning 1963, in locations including Arizona, Alabama, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. In 1995, he retired from Bell Labs in Murray Hill, NJ, as a facilities engineer. Earlier he served as plant engineer at Ideal Toy Corporation in Newark, NJ, and held various engineering positions of increasing responsibility at Rexham Corporation, Flemington, NJ, Reigel Paper Corporation, Milford, NJ, and Rayonier Paper Corporation, Jesup, Ga.
He served as an Air Force logistics officer in the Korean War with on-ship duties in the Pacific Ocean and tours in Seoul in 1954-1955. In his retirement, he was an avid volunteer for more than 20 years for Habitat for Humanity and on went various house-building missions with the First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, PA. He traveled to Iowa, Mississippi, and Texas to help rebuild homes damaged in flooding and hurricane disasters.
He was a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, PA. He was a member of the Sons of the Revolution and an avid researcher of genealogy, having traced the Bonnell family roots from their departure from Southampton, England, to New Haven, CT, in 1638. He also traced the Eisendrath roots to Dresden, Germany, where he and his wife represented the American Eisendrath branch in a global reunion of several hundred family members in 1997.
He is survived by his sons, William (Joan) Bonnell and Henry (Haruyo) Bonnell; daughter, Elaine Bonnell; grandsons, James Bonnell and Daniel Sobey; and granddaughters, Melody Sobey and Joy-Beth Sobey. The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff at Merit Hospital for their compassion, caring and kindness during his illness. Visitation will be held on Thursday, November 29, 6-8 PM, at Rupell Funeral Home, 465 Memorial Parkway, Phillipsburg, NJ.
Services will be held on Friday, November 30, at 11 am at Grace Church, 521 East Locust St., Bethlehem, PA. Burial will be at the Grandin Presbyterian Church, Grandin, NJ, at 2 pm. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Clement Milton Bonnell III please visit our Sympathy Store.
Upcoming Events Visitation , NOV 29. 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Rupell Funeral Home LLC 465 Memorial Parkway Phillipsburg, NJ, US, 08865 info@rupellfuneralhome.com Order Flowers for the Visitation Guaranteed delivery before Clement’s Visitation begins. Service NOV 30.
11:00 AM Grace Church 521 East Locust Street Bethlehem, PA, US, 18018 Order Flowers for the Service Guaranteed delivery before Clement’s Service begins.
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