Van Bonneau (1902–1986)

Richard Vanderhorst Bonneau ("Brother Van") was born in 1902. He is the son of Richard Vanderhorst Bonneau, Sr. and Martha L. Garrett. He was named after his Grand Uncle Maj. Richard Vanderhorst Bonneau, a graduate of West Point and Confederate Veteran. Bonneau was a Church of Christ minister, and lived at Dodson for many years before going to Farmers Branch in 1972. Bonneau held his first gospel service in June 1925, and from that time, held meetings from coast to coast. Bonneau was born Feb. 24, 1902, in Millsap. He attended Gunter Bible College to prepare for the Church of Christ ministry, and in 1926, he and Erma Jameson, of Dodsonville were married at Dozier. They moved to Dodson, then Dodsonville, during the summer of 1929 and established the family home on a quarter section of land at the south edge of town. It was given to them by her parents, as a wedding gift, and they still own it. Later, they moved to Carrollton to be near their children, then to Farmers Branch. Meanwhile, in 1957, the family returned to Gunter for one school semester while Mr. Bonneau finished his studies at Austin College in Sherman, receiving a B.A. degree in History and English. In addition to the meetings he held across the United States. Mr. Bonneau published a book of sermons, "Gospel Meditations," in 1977. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bonneau taught in the Dodson Schools and he taught full time during World War II. In 1969 he toured the Holy Land. Mr. Bonneau bred Partridge-Plymouth Rock chickens through the years, entering them regularly in shows across the country, winning many ribbons and trophies. His first blue ribbon was from the State Fair of Texas in 1930. The last was from that same fair in 1983. He died in 1986. Biographical details from Bonneau's obituary in The Wellington Leader, May 9, 1986