Kenneth Wilfrid Bonnette, 87

BELMONT — Kenneth Wilfrid Bonnette, 87, of Oak Ledge Farm, completed his earthly tasks on Monday, Oct. 21, 2019, at 3:30 a.m., in his beloved home, after a period of failing health.

Kenneth was born on Aug. 26, 1932, in Troy, son of the late Rudolph and Ina (Koski) Bonnette. He was nurtured by his grandparents, Eino and Sylvia Koski, and aunt Taimi in Troy, until high school, when he moved to Westmoreland. Kenneth graduated from Keene High School in the Class of 1950.

Kenneth served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1955, where he was a POW in Korea.

He did a three-year military apprentice with R.E. Beane Construction Company in Keene, where he became a job superintendent.

In 1969, Kenneth, along with Douglas Stone and Carl Page, founded Bonnette, Page and Stone Corporation. In 1970, they relocated to Laconia and Bonnette, Page and Stone Corp. became one of the largest commercial construction firms in the state of New Hampshire, and is still operating today.

Kenneth’s happiest memory and achievement was being a private pilot.

In 1980, the Oak Ledge Farm was built in Belmont and its first fair was in 1983. In 2009, Oak Ledge had Show Bull of the Year, Show Heifer of the Year, and 2009 Premier Exhibitor of the Northeast Region of the United States from American Hereford Association. The last of the animals were sold in 2016.

Kenneth is survived by his wife of 62 years, Elaine Turner Bonnette; two daughters, Marjorie and her husband, Bruce, and Nancy and her husband, Dan; seven grandchildren, Jesse, Jonathan, Shawna, Kelly, Matthew, Karen, and Mark; two half-sisters, Carol and Susan; a step-brother, Richard; and many great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

In addition to his parents, Kenneth was predeceased by a daughter, Sylvia; a step-father, Richard W. Delano; and a step-sister, Millicent.

Burial was private.

There will be a Celebration of Kenneth’s Life on Saturday, May 9, 2020, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at KREBS Farm in Sanbornton. Please RSVP with Elaine Bonnette, PO Box 255, Winnisquam, NH 03289.

For those who wish, the family suggests that a memorial donation may be made in Kenneth’s name to the Kenneth Bonnette Family Scholarship Fund, NH Charitable Foundation, 37 Pleasant St., Concord, NH 03301 (memo: “Kenneth Bonnette Family Scholarship Fund”).

Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, go to www.wilkinsonbeane.com.