James Joseph Bohnert
Father
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JAMES JOSEPH BOHNERT was born on October 31, 1925, in Longtown, Perry County, Missouri, the fourth child of John Vincent Bohnert and Sarah Helen Bohnert.
James' father, John Vincent Bohnert, was born on June 19, 1899, in Union Township, Perry County, Missouri, the youngest child of William Bohnert and Maria Elizabeth Leible.
James' mother, Sarah Helen Bohnert, was born on February 2, 1899, in Union Township, Missouri, the daughter of Anton Bohnert and Rosalia Catharina (Rose) Leible.
John Bohnert was working for his uncle in Mississippi County, Missouri, approximately 80 miles south of Longtown, at the time he and Sarah were courting.
James' parents were married in St. Mary's Catholic Church, Chester, Illinois, on July 16, 1919. In addition to his parents, John and Sarah Bohnert, James' family included the following:
James Joseph Bohnert
Oct. 31, 1925 - March 5, 2020
Children of John Vincent Bohnert and
Sarah Helen Bohnert
Trula Marie Bohnert
• April 30, 1919 - May 21, 2001
• married Wallace Huber
• died at 82 years of age
Melbourne John Bohnert
• Sept. 26, 1920 - Sept. 6, 2010
• married Loretta R. Tackaberry
• died at 89 years of age
• named for his father, John
Robert William Bohnert
• Sept. 6, 1922 - Feb. 16, 1952
• married Sylvia Schumer
• died at 29 years of age
• named for grandfather, William
James Joseph Bohnert
• Oct. 31, 1925 - March 5, 2020
• married Rose Anna Gibbar
• died at 94 years of age
Laura Sarah (Sis) Bohnert
• Oct. 1, 1927 - July 31, 2021
• married Ronald Bert
• named for mother, Sarah
• died at 93 years of age
Dorothy Rose (Dot) Bohnert
• Oct. 24, 1930 - July 17, 2023
• married Robert Otte
• named for grandmother, Rosa
• died at 92 years of age
Harry Anton Bohnert
• May 24, 1933 - Jan. 13, 1938
• died at 4.5 years of age
• named for grandfather, Anton
Linus Paul Bohnert
• May 22, 1938 - April 27, 1993
• married Patricia A. Renner
• died at 54 years of age
James lived on a farm in Longtown, Perry County, Missouri, until he was three years old. The farm was owned by Mr. Dayton Thorpe, a banker who was imprisoned for two years for embezzling from his own bank. The Bohnerts cared for the house and farm until Thorpe's release at which time they were forced to move in 1928 or 1929.
By 1930, according to the census, the family had moved to Perryville. Their first house was near the Willow Pond and later the family moved to Zeno Street. John Vincent Bohnert was a wage earner and his occupation was listed as "Tack Puller" at the Shoe Factory. Many other families who lived nearby were also employed by the International Shoe Factory. By this time, the family had increased to five children (Trula, Melbourne, Robert, James, and Lora [sic]). By 1935 they had moved to 317 Coina Street (later to become Edgemont Boulevard), the house that would remain in their family until Sarah Bohnert's death in 1997.
James' paternal grandfather, William Bohnert, lived with the family when they lived on Zeno street until his death in 1932 when James was eight years old. James recalled that he and his brothers would collect willow branches and his grandfather would weave baskets from them. James didn't have many other memories of his grandfather, except that he had a love of reading, which James definitely inherited.
James remembered spending most of his free time as a child swimming and fishing at Cinque Hommes Creek, not far from his house on Edgemont, with his friend, Charlie Henderson.
His favorite dog was a small pit bull mix named "Stubby." He recalled selling the white dog in the picture below to a woman for 50 cents. The dog returned three separate times and each time James charged her an additional 50 cents to have the dog returned!
Pictured below are James Bohnert and his nephew, Lee Huber, the son of his sister, Trula Huber. The dog on the right side of the small cart was "Stubby."
James J. Bohnert and Lee Huber
James J. Bohnert and Lee Huber
Stubby
Stubby
When James was 13 years old, tragedy struck his family. His youngest brother, Harry Anton, was the first person in Perry County to contract diphtheria. Harry was only 4 years and 7 months old when, after being ill for five days, he died on January 13, 1938. Because of the extremely contagious nature of the disease, none of the other children were allowed to stay in the home at that time.
All of Harry's belongings that could be destroyed were burned and he was immediately removed from the home. Despite the obituary in the newspaper stating that a private funeral was held in the home, James' recollection was that no funeral was held. Harry is interred at Mount Hope Cemetery in Perryville, Missouri.
News Clipping from
News Clipping from
January, 1938
January, 1938
Harry Anton Bohnert and
Harry Anton Bohnert and
Dorothy "Dot" Bohnert
When he was 16 or 17 years old (1941-1942), after completing one year at St. Vincent de Paul High School, James worked at Anderson Air Activities in McBride, Missouri. It was called Chester Army Airfield at that time. He was still living at home, but would alternate borrowing his father's old car or getting a ride with Elmer Richardet in order to get to work.
At the time, Anderson had a pilot training program and James got paid 40 cents per hour to crank start the planes in the morning and lead them out onto the runway by holding onto their wings. The planes they were using for training were Stearman biplanes left over from World War I.
James Joseph Bohnert
U. S. Navy, World War II
On November 1, 1943, the day after his 18th birthday, James Bohnert registered for the the draft. He listed his father, John Bohnert, as "person who will always know your address." On his registration documents, James was described as 5 foot 7 inches tall, light complexion with brown eyes and brown hair. His weight was 137 pounds.
Although his older brother, Robert, was already in the Marine Corps, James, in his own words, had no desire to "die in a foxhole." He was drafted into the U.S. Navy on January 20, 1944, and entered active service on January 26, 1944, at the Farragut Naval Training Station in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. After his time in boot camp, he was sent to the Marshall Islands in the Pacific.
James was discharged from service on January 1, 1946. He returned home to Perryville, Missouri, and resumed living with his parents, brothers and sisters at 317 Edgemont. As a returning veteran, he received $20 per month from the government. He doesn't recall having any other employment between leaving the service in January, 1946 and January, 1948.
Follow the link at the bottom of the page for more in-depth information regarding James' service during the war.
Rose Anna Gibbar
April 22, 1927 - February 23, 2000
Rose Anna Gibbar was the daughter of James Henry Gibbar, Sr. and Mary Eleanora "Ella" Belsha. She was born in McBride, Perry County, Missouri, on Friday, April 22, 1927. On Saturday, January 17, 1948, James J. Bohnert and Rose Anna Gibbar were married in the Church of the Assumption in Perryville, Missouri. The ceremony was performed by Reverend Joseph L. Brennan, C.M. Witnesses were Laura and Dorothy Bohnert, sisters of the groom, and James and Harry Gibbar, brothers of the bride.
Left to Right
James J. Gibbar, Jr., Laura Bohnert,
Rose Gibbar Bohnert, James Bohnert
Dorothy Bohnert, Harry Gibbar
Rose Gibbar Bohnert
and James Joseph Bohnert
Rose Gibbar Bohnert
"Cinderella Beauty Shop"
The couple made their first home at 421 Old St. Marys Road in an apartment in the upstairs of a house. At the time, Rose was working at the Cinderella Beauty Shop in Perryville. James recalled often picking her up for lunch. He was working as a plumber for Jerome Moonier at the rate of 50 cents per hour.
At the time, James was also still receiving a government pension for his service in the war. James recalled that he was taking flying lessons as a part of a government program. They paid $35 dollars a month, but he didn't cash the checks. He knew that if he collected both the pension and the money from the flying lessons, he would be in trouble when the government finally realized their mistake. They finally did, and he returned all the checks uncashed.
While living in the house on Old St. Mary's Road, James was busy building the house at 1004 Edgemont Boulevard that the couple would live in for the majority of their married life. Although very small initially, James continued to add on to the house as their needs required.
After three years of marriage, their first daughter was born in Chester, Illinois (the hospital in Perryville was not opened until a year or two after she was born).
The couple added two more children, both girls, to the family. In 1956, when the youngest was just a few months old, James added another room to the front of the house. It was in this room that Rose created her own business, "Rose's Beauty Shop," which she continued to operate almost continually for the next 40 years.
As the family continued to grow, Rose worked at the beauty shop while James had a variety of jobs, including driving a truck for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer in Peoria, Illinois, and working as a plumber, eventually even having his own business, "Bohnert's Plumbing, Heating and Guttering."
Rose Bohnert at 1004 Edgemont
"Rose's Beauty Shop" addition to 1004 Edgemont
"Rose's Beauty Shop"
Bohnert Plumbing, Heating, and Guttering
Sometime when their family was young, James became interested in horses. He had always wanted a horse when he was a boy but, living in town, was unable to have one. Once he had a family and house of his own, however, he didn't let living in town deter him. James and his neighbor, Bud Sandler, fenced in their two back yards and purchased two horses. James recalled that his first horse was "a dumb, dumb, good for nothing horse." His second horse was very large and, in his words, a 'rough ride.'
Over the years, James traded horses, always looking for a new one. He recalled one time in particular that he purchased a pony for his daughter and hauled it home in the backseat of his Super 88 Oldsmobile with its head sticking out of the window. He recalled that "the whole town knew he had purchased that horse."
James passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 5, 2020, in front of the fireplace in the comfort of his own home. At the time of his death, he was 94 years old and had lived a long life filled with adventure and love.
James Joseph Bohnert
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