Everette Lee Boner Jr.

Everette Lee Boner, Jr., a resident of Lake of Egypt, IL, went to meet the Lord on Sept. 8, 2023 at the age of 57. He was predeceased by his parents, Roberta & Bud Boner, & two sisters. He was born in Peoria, IL & was a member of the GHS Class of 1983. He attended Shawnee Community College on an academic scholarship & graduated in 1985 with academic honors & Associate’s Degrees in diesel mechanics & welding. He personally rebuilt his first pick-up, eventually a gleaming, cherry-red-&-chrome 1979 Ford, & it won many awards as he enjoyed taking it to competitive shows over the years with his family. He was a Master Mason in Saline Lodge No. 339 A.F. & A.M., where he served as a judge for many years in the Mason’s Annual Car Shows in Goreville. He loved Blackcat basketball, & faithfully supported all of his children & grandchildren in all of their many Blackcat sports & activities over a span of many years. He also loved his registered beagles, their puppies, & hunting with them. Lee Boner loved the Lord. He was saved & baptized many years ago & worshiped regularly over the years with several area churches. He read his Bible every day & had read it through so many times that the cover was soft and faded. He was easy-going, hard-working, & loved his family. His Ford-blue eyes were full of kindness & mischief, & he dimpled hugely when he smiled. He could fix nearly any engine with his big hands, & he grew good trees & flowers & children. Retired from Pepsi MidAmerica after 20 years of service, Lee was more recently employed for over 14 years as a driver for the transportation team at Martin&Bailey/Huck’s Corp. He worked the hardest, though, at being the most reliable & loving of husbands, a patient father, & an indulgent PaPa, who gave endless & tireless tractor rides, lawnmower rides, & piggy-back rides, until the girls were so old that their long legs dangled from his shoulders to his blue-jean pockets. Gone too soon, he will be missed in so many inexpressible ways by us all, always. Lee is survived by his loving wife of 24 years, Karen; their children: Nadia Boner, Theb (Melody) Sexton, Kim Chamness, & Amy (Dave) Duringer; grandchildren: Chance Duringer, Savannah Duringer, Allison Chamness & Teddy Sexton; & sister-in-law, Net Morrison. Services will be held at Bailey Funeral Home in Vienna on Lee’s birthday, Saturday, Sept. 16, beginning with Masonic rites at 5 pm, followed by visitation until 8 pm. Sunday visitation will be Sept. 17, 2 - 3 pm, at Busby Chapel Church in Goreville. A celebration of Lee’s life will be held at Busby, Sunday, Sept. 17, at 3 pm, Rev. Bill Schell officiating, & interment to follow at Busby Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to GHS Girls Athletics or the Jimmy Morrison Memorial Scholarship Fund. Questions may be directed to Bailey Funeral Home, to whom the family has entrusted arrangements.

Everette Lee Boner Jr.

September 8, 2023