Chester N "Red" Boni

Master Sergeant

USMC Retired

8 Mar 1940 - 13 May 2004

N4CB

 N0EFA N0TEF N0MET N0MAL

The Spokesman-Review   Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Chester Norman Boni

Buckley, Washington

Private graveside inurnment for Chester Norman Boni, 64, will be held at Greenwood Cemetery in Kellogg. Shoshone Funeral Service in Kellogg is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Boni died Thursday in Puyallup, Washington.

He served in the Marine Corps as a Master Sergeant during Vietnam.

He had lived in Kellogg on and off.

He was a member of the Masonic Lodge and enjoyed reading and computers.

Survivors include two daughters, Maryruth Butler of Kellogg and Wendy Hawes of Orange County, Calif.; a brother, William Boni of Arizona; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to any Masonic Lodge or Greenwood Cemetery in Kellogg.

There was an incident when Red Boni attempted to fly a kite with wire as the string. He was hoping to use it as an antenna. The kite gained a good altitude and Boni climbed to the top of a pole in the back of the station to tie it off (the pole was about 30 foot tall). The kite began to loop and dive and Boni, holding the wire, yanked on the wire to get the kite under control. His efforts were unsuccessful and the kite plunged to the ground. There was a great electrical flash on the other side of the base, near where the kite had crashed. Boni was blown from the top of the pole and the base was plunged into darkness. After recovering the shock and being blown from the pole, Boni attempted to report that he may have been the cause of this power outage (I'm still not certain which of these attempts was the least wise decision I've seen an adult make). Anyway he was unable to convince anyone that he had been the cause of the power outage. There was general consensus that a transformer had blown-up. 

Maybe the Electrical Boni story ought to remain just between you and I, unless Boni says it okay! It was truly the most remarkable incident I've ever witnessed and I still laugh when I recall the sight of him being blown from the pole. At the time it wasn't really very funny but time has had its way with this and many other unpleasant memories. 

Cpl Ernie Young @ N0TEF