FREEPORT – Public Service is a high calling – Edward M. Bonney, 88, of Freeport passed away in the loving care of the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough on Sept. 12, 2021, after a short illness.

He was born on April 5, 1933, in Buckfield, Maine to Mason Turner Bonney and Beatrice Evelyn Dean Bonney. He attended schools in Buckfield, Durham, Winthrop and Freeport, graduating from Freeport High in 1951.

Duty to a greater good became Ed’s lifelong calling when he left Emerson College in Boston after only one year to enlist in the United States Air Force during the Korean Conflict.

Honorably discharged in 1956, he returned to Freeport and married the love of his life, Betty Joyce Smith. They moved to New York when Ed accepted a position as an air traffic controller at Idlewild (now JFK International) Airport.

With sons Kerry and Ed Jr., Ed and Betty decided they wanted their boys to be raised in their beloved Maine, so they returned to Freeport in 1960. Son Brian was born in 1961.

Ed immediately took a position in sales with W. T. Grant in Portland, earning a promotion to department manager.

While working at Grant’s, Ed became involved in local politics. This new passion led him to leave Grant’s in 1965 to become the Executive Director of the Maine Democratic Party, serving yet again a higher calling. Recognized for his exemplary leadership and organizational skills, Ed was recruited to become the Maine State Bar Association’s next Executive Director in 1973, a position he held until his retirement in 1998.

Retirement was just a word though, as Ed kept busy in several different positions and multiple endeavors, ultimately “settling down” as the Freeport Train Station manager until his death.

Inspired by the presidency of John F. Kennedy, Ed devoted his life to public service, serving in hundreds of different roles, from Town Council Chairperson locally to President of the National Association of Bar Executives nationally.

Ed was predeceased by his parents; and his wife Betty, to whom he was married for 49 inseparable years.

He is survived by his sons, Kerry and his wife Lisa, Ed Jr. and his wife Jelyn and Brian and his wife Cheryl; grandchildren, Samantha, Patrick, Sarah, Christopher, Michael, Dusty, Shawn, Heartzel, Harold, and Harleith; great-grandchildren, Jayla, Brayden, Jasmine, John Patrick, Joshua, Dillon, Harper and Alexa. He is also survived by his sister Shirley Hunnewell; niece Joan Hunnewell; and cousins Robert Bonney and Marilyn Plissey.

A memorial service will be held in the spring of 2022.

To view a more thorough account of Ed’s amazing accomplishments, please visit http://www.dignitymemorial.com.

The family would like to recognize the incredible doctors, nurses and staff at Maine Medical Center and the Gosnell House for their dedication, competence and compassion; you comforted us while caring for our Dad and we humbly thank you.

In lieu of flowers,

donations may be

made in Ed’s name to:

Freeport Community Services or

a charity of your choice