January 13, 1935 to April 19, 2023
LaVon “Bonnie” D. Mair, age 88, of Neola, passed away at home on April 19, 2023, of complications from kidney failure, near the same spot as the cabin in which she was born, in her family home of almost 60 years.
Bonnie was born on Jan. 13, 1935, as the eldest child of William Freeman Dye and Laura LaVon Lawson Dye, in a log cabin north of Neola, Utah. Bonnie attended school in Neola and Roosevelt, graduating from Union High School in 1952. Each day, before and after school, for many years, she helped her family milk their dairy cattle by hand.
After a brief stint at Brigham Young University, Bonnie obtained work in California, where she met an airman named John Keith Mair. They became friends and with time, developed a forever love. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on May 7, 1959, and lived happily together for almost 64 years. To this union were born four children, Bruce Keith Mair, Woodbridge, Virginia; Brian John (Clair) Mair, Heber City, Utah; Launa Mair of Neola, Utah; and Kerri M. (Don) McCullough of Murray, Utah. To complete the family, Todd Gardner (Cara) Mair of White Rocks, Utah; and Dean Gardner Mair of Gunnison, Utah, were brought in as foster children and subsequently adopted. Keith and Bonnie have 13 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Bonnie was always on the move. She enjoyed gardening and canning the fruits and vegetables she and her family produced. She was employed with the BIA and by the State of Utah. She was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in many callings and enjoyed sharing her alto voice in church choirs. Bonnie and Keith supported four children on missions, and later in life served missions in Martins Cove, Wyoming, and in the Mississippi Jackson Mission, serving in Arkansas and Louisiana. Bonnie and Keith also served in the Vernal Utah Temple and enjoyed doing family work there for her Lawson kin.
She is survived by brothers; Larry (Thelma) Dye of Myton, Utah; and Norman (Margo) Dye of Roosevelt, Utah; her husband; children; grandchildren; great-grandchildren; several in-laws; nieces; and nephews.
Bonnie was preceded in death by her parents; siblings, Freda Campbell, Linden “Mutt” Dye, and Billy Dye; brothers-in-law, William Mair, Dale Geddes, and Allen Nye.
Friends and family are invited to a viewing on Friday, April 28, 2023, at the Hullinger Mortuary from 9 to 11 a.m. Graveside services will be at the Neola Cemetery at 11:30 a.m.
The family expresses their appreciation to the staff at Uintah Basin Medical Center and Canyon Home Health and Hospice for their kindness and care of Bonnie.
Condolences may be shared at www.hullingermortuary.