Obituaries
Retired civil engineer John L. "Jack" Bonzey, 89
Photo courtesy of Jack;s family
Note: The following obituary appeared on the Couer d’Alene (Idaho) Post Falls Press on March 5.
Retired Caltrans civil engineer and beloved husband, father, brother and friend Jack Bonzey of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, passed away Feb. 27, a few months shy of his 90th birthday. He was born June 5, 1933, in Worcester, Mass., to John L. and Mary A. (Thomas) Bonzey.
Jack grew up in Auburn, Mass., with his younger brother, Ron. He attended Auburn High School, joined the Navy in October 1950 and was honorably discharged August 1954. He attended Worcester Jr. College, where he achieved a degree in engineering. It was at this time he played semi-pro hockey and was paid $5 a game!
Jack got tired of working in the cold temperatures and headed west to Orange County in 1961 as a surveyor and civil engineer for the Division of Highways. He applied for a position in Eureka, Calif., and headed north. It was here he met his wife, Betty Boggs, from Vacaville, Calif. They married April 2, 1966, in Vacaville and passed through Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on their honeymoon trip to British Columbia. They decided eventually they would retire there. Betty and Jack celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary in 2020.
In August 1967, their only child, Michelle, was born. The Bonzey family made their home in Hydesville, Calif., where Jack stayed as a civil engineer and eventually retired as a resident engineer for District 1 Caltrans in October 1993.
Jack was a 4-H Leader, a member of Professional Engineers of California Government, a fuchsia grower, avid gardener and a Model A Ford club member. He was a diehard Boston Bruins Hockey fan dating back to his early ice-skating years. He followed local player Tyler Johnson of the Chicago Black Hawks, but NEVER gave up on the Bruins!
After retirement, Jack and Betty did make their way to Kootenai County. They built and enjoyed operating the beautiful log Ponderosa Bed and Breakfast in Athol for 13 years. In 2009, they sold The Ponderosa and moved to the city of Coeur d’Alene.
Jack is survived by his daughter, Michelle (Cato) Livingston, of Coeur d’Alene; brother Ron (Barbara) Bonzey of Auburn; his nieces, nephews and his special friends that made his life complete: Michael Stapleton, The Sweens, Bob Burton and The Wurmlingers. Jack will be happily remembered and sadly missed. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty, in October 2020, and his parents.
Heavy equipment mechanic Jose Padilla
Photo by Division of Equipment
Note: The following announcement was emailed to all Caltrans staff on Feb. 22 by Robert S. Myers, chief of the Division of Equipment.
It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of the loss of one of our DOE family members. Jose Padilla, a heavy equipment mechanic at Shop 7, passed Feb. 17 at the age of 57.
Jose joined the Shop 7 family on June 22, 2015, and quickly became the cornerstone of the shop. Jose set the bar high!
He was always respectful, courteous, hardworking, and very humble. His positive attitude towards life always came with a smile.
In 2022, Jose was nominated as DOE’s employee spotlight and because of his humility, declined being recognized publicly and simply stated, “he was only doing his job.”
Jose touched the lives of many, and as we mourn this sudden and tragic loss of our colleague and friend, I ask you to keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.
Retired Caltrans worker Francis Sweet
Photo courtesy of Francis' family
Note: The following obituary appeared on The Lost Coast Outpost (Humboldt County) on Feb. 2.
Retired Caltrans worker Francis Sweet passed away on Jan. 26 in Fortuna.
Francis was born in Ferndale in 1933 and graduated from Ferndale High in 1951. During high school he worked at the Ferndale Enterprise. While in high school Francis was involved in FFA, and that is where he was introduced to raising sheep. Francis was a private in the Army serving two years in Korea. Upon his return from Korea he went back to work for the Connick Livestock Company and then Caltrans, where he retired, enabling him to ranch full-time in Petrolia.
Francis was an active member of the community and had many varied interests. Francis belonged to the Korean Veterans group and at the time of his passing was their vice president. He was a member of the VFW in Ferndale. Francis belonged to the Danish Lodge for 62 years and had passed through all the chairs at various points, he belonged to the Dania Lodge, he was a member of the Adult Danish Dance Team, performing at the Scandinavian Midsummer Festival each year.
Francis was a member of the California Wool Growers association for 64 years, holding various positions during that time, assisting with the annual Wool Growers lamb barbecue in Fortuna. Francis belonged to the Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Ferndale.
Francis was very knowledgeable of our local Humboldt County and Ferndale history and his own ancestors and their journey to Ferndale. Many reached out to Francis to identify people or places in old photos.
Francis loved to play cards, especially Pedro. Francis held an annual 4th of July picnic out at the ranch in Petrolia and provided pit lamb and a dance floor for those who knew how to do a polka. Francis loved to dance — square dancing and Danish folk dancing were two of his favorites.
Francis is survived by Delores Scales, his children, Connie HagQuist (Ron), Becky Sweet, Sandy Aguiar, Clara Sherrill (Gary) and Daniel Barney (Silvana). He is also survived by his 16 grandchildren, Hannah HagQuist, Rachel HagQuist, Justin Ammons, Crystal Sweeney, Alexis Aguiar, Mariah Aguiar, Ray Sherill, Keith Sherrill, Amanda Bunnell, Katina DeNune, Jamie DeNune, Tony DeNune, Clayton Johnson, Jessie Johnson, Kevin Barney and Tamara Barney and 18 great-grandchildren and 3 great great-grandchildren. Francis was preceded in death by his parents, Claude and Mildred Sweet, his second wife Lorana Sweet, daughters, Lynne Johnson and Dona Callender, son-in-law Mark DeNune, granddaughter Lorana Johnson and great-grandson Wesley.