Charles Bonner McMillion

“Put your hands on the bar, on mine,” she said, “and don’t close your eyes. Look at the world.” She squealed as the Ferris wheel lurched and we were suddenly winging free, earth, sea, music, noises all one blur within that boundless moment. She wasn’t just a girl then. She was the only girl ever. Our hands were clasped, our hearts joined, our cries and laughter ringing as we soared into the sky. So Long at the Fair by Bonner McMillion Author, newspaper publisher, and Austin businessman Charles Bonner McMillion died in Austin on Feb. 7, 2014. He was 92 years old.  Bonner was born Nov. 8, 1921, in Falls County, Texas, to Charles Adair and Nell Perteet McMillion. He grew up in central Texas, but spent part of his boyhood near Caprock Canyon and Junction, where his father worked laying oil pipelines. He graduated from Lott High School in 1939 and entered Baylor University that fall, attending for two years before moving to Los Angeles to work for North American Aircraft. In  early 1942, he began working at Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego. In October of that year, he enlisted in the Air Force, later explaining, “I wanted to join the military before the military joined me.” He trained as a cryptographer during World War II and served in Aden, on the southwestern coast of the Arabian Peninsula; in  Dakar, now in Senegal; and in Atar, now in Mauritania. He returned to the U.S. on V-E Day, after 25 months overseas. He settled in Dallas, where he worked at the Dallas Times Herald, and fell in love with Virginia Womack of Paris, Texas. They married on Nov. 16, 1947. Bonner and Virginia owned and published three central Texas newspapers from the early 1950s to the mid-1970s: The Elgin Courier in Elgin, The Brazos Valley Times in Marlin, which they co-founded with Bonner’s parents; and The Fayette County Record in La Grange, which they owned from 1965 to 1976. In 1979 Bonner and Virginia started an office supply and print shop on North Lamar in Austin called Pronto Print, which they sold in 1985.

Bonner was the author of three novels, all set in Texas. The Lot of Her Neighbors was published in 1953. The Long Ride Home was published in 1955. In addition to appearing as a novel, The Long Ride Home was serialized in Collier’s magazine, was published in Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, and appeared on TV as The Long Walk Home. Bonner

was working at the Waco Tribune Herald on Nov. 22, 1963, when President Kennedy died. That night, while watching coverage of the assassination on TV, Bonner and Virginia opened the telegram they had received that day telling them that Bonner’s third novel, So Long at the Fair, had been accepted for publication. Until a few years ago, Bonner was working on a novel that took place in World War II. Bonner is survived by his wife of 66 years, Virginia Mc- Million of Austin; son Charles Mark McMillion of Austin; daughters Melissa Nell Mc- Million and husband Wayne Eisen of Pinole, Calif., and Robin McMillion and husband Tim Jurgensen of Austin. He is also survived by grandsons Ariel McMillion and partner

Ann-Sofie Ivarsson of Goteborg, Sweden; Andrew McMillion and wife Sana Majeed Mc- Million of Arnes, Norway; John

Joseph McMillion and partner Jeanette Jernberg of Goteborg, Sweden; Ari N. Schulman of  Arlington, VA; and Leonard

Bonner Eisen of Pinole, Calif.; granddaughters Anna Virginia Holter-Stoen of Oslo, Norway; Captain Leslie Melissa Schulman of Shreveport, La.; and Sierra Lenore Eisen of Pinole, Calif.; three nieces; and several great-grandchildren.

Bonner was an avid reader. He particularly enjoyed history. Although he never finished college, his family often said he

would have made a wonderful history professor. Bonner wrote fiction almost continuously from the time he was a child

until a few years before he died, and passed the love of reading and writing to his children and grandchildren. Bonner took a keen interest in politics. In the spring of 2008, the McMillion family, stretching at that time from Indonesia

to California to Texas to Scandinavia, discussed by email who they hoped would win the Democratic nomination for

president. The over-80 crowd was for Clinton, the under-40 crowd was for Obama, and the rest were divided. Bonner  often commented on the profound changes that had taken place in America in his life. Raised in Texas, he had accepted segregation as the natural order of things, but began to change his views during World War II. His second novel, The Long Ride Home, dealt with the integration of a Texas school. Bonner admired a man who would not have been accepted as president by most Americans during much of Bonner’s life. Bonner served his country proudly, and, his family believes, felt good about passing the country he loved on to the next generation of Americans. Bonner and Virginia were charter members of the Unitarian Fellowship in Waco. At the time of his death, Bonner was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Austin. Bonner was an enthusiastic supporter of the Baylor Bears. Bonner’s family would like to thank the staff of Buckner Villa, who did so much to care for Bonner during his final months. The family would also like to thank Family Eldercare, and the following physicians and their staffs: Dr. Ajay Gupta, Dr. Robert Izor, and Dr. Randy Lisch. Finally, the family would like to thank Bonner’s and Virginia’s neighbors, who were very helpful to the family and often stopped to chat. Visitation will be Tuesday,  Feb. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home on N. Lamar in Austin. The funeral will be Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church

at 4700 Grover Ave. in Austin. Interment will follow at Capital Parks Cemetery in Pflugerville. Arrangements by Weed-

Corley-Fish Funeral Home (512) 452-8811. Obituary and memorial guestbook available online at www.wcfish.com.