Boneta Hood

BONETA F. HOOD, 88, of Humboldt, IL passed away at 2:28 A.M. on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at her residence in rural Humboldt, IL, surrounded by her family.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at the Humboldt United Methodist Church. Rev. Jack Woods will officiate. Burial will be in the Humboldt Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 at the Edwards Funeral Home in Arcola, IL

Boneta was born on January 16, 1921 in Palestine, IL. She was a daughter of Otho Elmer and Esther B. (Buntin) Hughes. She married Scott Byron Hood on January 25, 1945 in Tuscola, IL. He passed away on March 8, 1997.

She is survived by three children, Linda Kimball and her husband Jim of Charleston, IL, David Hood and his wife Pam of Mattoon, IL and Jane Keller and her husband Bill of Humboldt, IL; six grandchildren, Deron Kimball of Mattoon, IL, Angela Hyland and her husband Bret of Mattoon, IL, Ryan Hood and his wife Denise of Morton, IL, Chris Hood of Beaver Dam, WI, Wes Keller of Champaign, IL and Scott Keller of Champaign, IL: and four great grandchildren, James Kimball of Mattoon and Carson, Kaden, and Carrigan Hyland of Mattoon.

She was preceded in death by her parents her husband and two brothers, Kenneth and Carroll Hughes.

Boneta graduated from Lockyear Business College in Evansville, Indiana in 1941. Upon graduation she worked for the General Accounting Office with the federal government in Washington D.C. Her first Sunday in Washington D.C. was Pearl Harbor Day. She met her husband Scott through church activities, as he was stationed there in the Navy. With each of them being from Illinois and from two towns only 90 miles apart, they immediately had something in common.

After their marriage in 1945 they made their home in rural Coles County, where they lived their entire life.

The three things that were Boneta’s passion and purpose in life were her faith, family, and farming. She knew Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior and was a member of the Humboldt United Methodist Church. There she volunteered her time by cooking and baking homemade pies for church socials and for other people in times of celebration or need. She taught Sunday School for many years and also was a substitute church organist.

Boneta was a loving and caring Mother, Grandma, and Mimi and found great joy in spending much time surrounded by her family. She never missed the chance to attend an activity with her family, whether it was a church function, sporting event, or a cattle show, she was there.

While Boneta raised the family, she also enjoyed farming alongside her husband. She wore many hats for the farm, which included anything from doing the books to driving a tractor, but the one thing many people enjoyed, on a daily basis, was the great effort she would put into bringing amazing meals with a fresh baked pie to the field. She was often quoted as saying, “The world could not survive without farmers.”

Boneta was an avid vegetable and flower gardener and she loved to share the produce of her garden with others. She also loved to crochet and had made over 30 afghans in the last few years for all of her family. She also enjoyed watching Fighting Illini basketball and reading.

To have a Mother and Grandma, like Boneta, is to be forever blessed! She will be greatly missed by all and we will all see her again in heaven someday!


Memorials may be made to the Humboldt United Methodist Church.