Bill Bonds
of Fox, AR
September 3, 1937 – July 20, 2023
William Andrew “Bill” Bonds, 85, of Fox, died Thursday, July 20, 2023, at home surrounded by family.
He was born on September 3, 1937, at Meadow Creek to the late Earl and Omalee Bonds. He was an avid outdoorsman and particularly loved hunting and fishing, but he also loved sports of all kinds. While he was known for his basketball skills in high school, he spent many years after high school playing softball in a league in Little Rock and continued playing even after he moved to Fox.
Bill also loved playing golf, horseshoes, and cards. He was very competitive in everything he did and always played to win. Once while playing cards with his wife Dayle as his partner, she played the wrong card which she could see upset him; she told him that it didn’t bother her to lose, and he responded with, “That’s because you’re used to losing, I’m not!”
In his later years, as his health started deteriorating, he found a new passion for fantasy golf and even gave his last line-up only one day prior to his death.
Bill worked from the time he was married until the day he retired, always providing for his family. He began working at the Interstate Highway Sign Company in Little Rock in the 1960s and worked there until he moved to Fox in 1978, where he then started driving a truck for Foremost Milk. He farmed and drove a bus for Rural Special School while owning and operating Bonds Grocery in Fox for over seventeen years.
Bill grew up in a family that loved music, especially Bluegrass Gospel. He started learning to play the banjo in the early 70s; years later, after moving to Fox, he played with a band known as the Fox Bluegrass Band. They played at numerous community centers, churches, community parks, and the court square in Mountain View. He later decided he wanted to learn to play the fiddle because. in his words, “Darrell Barnett was much better playing the banjo than him.”
Bill is survived by his wife, of 64 years, Dayle Bonds, of the home; two sons, Andy Bonds and Kelly Bonds, both of Fox, Arkansas; one daughter, Pam Owens and husband Rodney of Fox, Arkansas; seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, along with many extended family and friends.
Bill is preceded in death by his parents, Earl and Omalee Bonds; three sisters, Mavis Farris, Donnie Wrinkle, and Bonnie Wrinkle; four brothers, Corbet Bonds, Reece Bonds, and two infant brothers.
Graveside services were held at Fox Cemetery in Fox, Arkansas with Brothers Coy, Marvin, and Stan Sutterfield officiating on June 22, 2023.
Pallbearers were Rodney Owens, Heath Owens, Chuck Bonds, Chad Bonds, and Nathan Harper, Lance Bonds. Honorary pallbearers were Marty Berry, Ethan Farris, and Aaron Farris.
Roller Crouch Funeral Home in Mountain View was in charge of the arrangements.
