Donald Edwin Bone

Don was born on November 25, 1935 in Johnson’s Chapel, Arkansas, the eldest child of Edgar and Nadine Bone. He graduated from Des Arc High School in 1953, then worked his way through Beebe Junior College driving the local school bus before graduating from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. After a brief stint in Washington DC working for the Rural Electrification Administration he was drafted into the U.S. Army where he served two years at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Following his military service, he returned to Arkansas and accepted a job with Arkansas Power and Light in El Dorado in January of 1961. He remained with Arkansas Power and Light (later Entergy) for 41 years, retiring in the spring of 2002. It was in El Dorado where he met the love of his life, Beverly Ann Kelley. They were married in November of 1963 and honeymooned in the Bahamas. Don and Beverly moved from El Dorado to Hot Springs in 1964 where both of their children were born. The family moved to North Little Rock in 1975 where Don and Beverly spent the majority of their remaining years, with the exception of a brief three-year sojourn in Forrest City.

Don was a man of many avocations. He was an accomplished artist and craftsman, painting watercolors, making Christmas wreaths, tying macrame wall hangings (hey, it was the ‘70’s), and even writing, illustrating, and binding books for his beloved granddaughters. He researched both his and Beverly’s ancestry, tracing the family back to the 1600’s and eventually writing a book on the subject. Gardening and working in his yard were a great passion. His azaleas, daffodils, tulips and dogwoods were a source of great joy and pride. Remarkably, he planted a seed from a grapefruit he ate for breakfast one morning in 1963 and nurtured the resulting tree for the next 55 years. He loved music and was able to see a wide range of performers throughout his life, from Elvis Presley in concert at the Tulsa Fairgrounds in 1956 to the Vienna Mozart Orchestra in Vienna, Austria in 2005.

In retirement, he and Beverly traveled the world visiting the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. They also saw Hawaii, Alaska and many places in the lower 48 states, from the Pacific Northwest, to California, to Florida, to Maine and many points in between. Don and Beverly met and made countless friends in their travels, creating many precious memories along the way.

Don was a lifelong Methodist and was a faithful and active member of the Lakewood United Methodist Church for the final 48 years of his life. He loved teaching his Sunday school class, and put great effort into preparing the lesson, on one occasion releasing a butterfly in class to illustrate the point he was trying to make.

But most of all Don loved spending time with his family, friends and loved ones. His wife, children and grandchildren were the most important things in his life. His siblings, in-laws, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and neighbors were all a source of joy for him.

Don is predeceased by his parents, Edgar and Nadine Bone and his brother, Ben Bone.

Don is survived by his wife, Beverly of McKinney, Texas; his son Greg Bone of Dallas, Texas; his daughter Lauren Bone Noble and son-in-law Chris Noble and their children Daisy and Willow, of Oxford, Mississippi; his brother Gerald Bone and wife Judy Bone of Des Arc; his sister Louise Ross and husband Leon of Little Rock, along with in-laws, nieces and nephews, friends and neighbors too numerous to count. Don Bone did not know a stranger. He was a friend to all. Never was there a kinder or finer man to walk this earth. We are better for having known and loved him.

A service will be held on Saturday, April 1st at 2pm at Lakewood United Methodist Church in North Little Rock.