On July 31, 1912, when John was only 13 years old, his mother, Mary Elizabeth Leible Bohnert, died, leaving him with his father, five older sisters, and three older brothers. His father never remarried.

John Vincent Bohnert

World War I Draft Registration

Sarah Helen Bohnert was born on February 2, 1899. She grew up in Union Township, Perry County, Missouri,  where her father, Anton, worked in a flour mill owned by his older brother. Sarah came from a large family. In addition to her parents, Anton and Rosalia (Rosa), it included the following:

On July 16, 1919, John Vincent Bohnert married Sarah Helen Bohnert in Chester, Randolph County, Illinois. The marriage, conducted at St. Mary's Catholic Church, was witnessed by Vince Bohnert and Ida Kirn (brother and sister of the bride).

Sarah and John were double half-first cousins. Their fathers, William and Anton Bohnert, were half brothers and their mothers, Maria (Mary) Elizabeth Leible and Rosalia Catharina Leible, were half sisters.

John Vincent Bohnert and 

Sarah Helen Bohnert Marriage Certificate

As documented in the 1920 Federal Census, the family rented a house in Union Township at Uniontown and Apple Creek Road. John Vincent was working as a carpenter. They had a young daughter, Trula Marie, who was approximately 9 months old (b. April 30, 1919).

Sarah recalled a time when the family was living in a "little two room house" in Uniontown. Her husband, John, had left for work and she was alone with "the little ones sleeping in the back room." Upon answering her door, she found two men dressed in "convict clothes" who asked for food. She was frightened because she was alone and had small children in the house, but felt that she needed to feed them. She gave them food, they ate, and then left. She never heard about what had happened to them. She also recalled that frequently "tramps" would come to the door and she would go to the basement and bring up cans of food for them. In her words, "I thought you needed to feed everybody."

​By 1930, the family had moved to Perryville. Their first house was near the Willow Pond and later the family moved to Zeno Street. John Vincent was listed as a wage earner, his job being a "Tack Puller" at the shoe factory. Many other families who lived nearby were also employed by the International Shoe Factory. At this time, the family had increased to five children (Trula, Melbourne, Robert, James and Lora). By 1935 they had moved to 317 Coina Street (later to become Edgemont Boulevard), the house they would live in for the rest of their lives. Together, Sarah and John Bohnert had eight children. They included the following:

This is currently the only known photo of Harry Anton Bohnert. Judging from the age of the child in the photo, it was possibly taken shortly before he passed away.

In 1940, the Federal Census showed that the Bohnerts owned their own home at 317 Coina Street which was valued at either $14.​​​​​​​​​​00 or $1400.00 (Although the census taker very clearly wrote $14.00, our father, James Bohnert, recalled that his father, John, paid $600 for the house so it would seem that $1400.00 amount would be a more reasonable assessment).

Children living at home in 1940 included Melbourne (19), Robert (17), James J. (14), Lora (12), Dorothy (9) and Linus (1). Melbourne was working full time as a "helper" at a Soda Factory and Robert was working with his father at the International Shoe Factory, which was located just a few blocks from their home.​

At the time of his death, Robert was married to Sylvia Marie Schumer Bohnert and had three children, Gary, Dale and Rebecca. Their first child, Margaret Star Bohnert (called "Twinkle"), had died in infancy. Sylvia, his wife, was pregnant at the time with their son, William (Bill) Bohnert.