Our lovely and beloved Bonnie Jo Small left this earth on the morning of March 8, 2023. Bonnie was born outside of Hamlet, Indiana to Jacob and Jenny (Shenkle) Crabill on September 9, 1935. Bonnie attended Grovertown elementary and middle school before moving to Knox and graduating from Knox High School in 1955. Bonnie was the second youngest of five children with her twin sisters Henrietta (Kuhls) and Marietta (Newgent), sister Nina (Greenawalt) and younger brother, Jacob, Jr. During the summers in high school, she worked at a downtown café in Plymouth with her sister Marietta driving her first car, a used 1931 Model A. After graduation, she lived for part of a year in Chicago working at a downtown restaurant with her high school best friend, Norma Pinion. She returned to Knox and to her high school sweetheart, Harold (Skeeter) Small, and the two would be married on June 24, 1956.
Bonnie and Skeeter were married more than 66 years and were blessed with two boys Douglas (Karen) Small of South Bend/Granger and Marcus Small, who sadly died in a car accident in 1980. Bonnie is survived by her husband, Harold, who lovingly referred to her as “my best girl,” and her son Douglas and his wife Karen; grandchildren Miles Small of Bristol, Rhode Island and Kemmery (Keultjes) of South Bend; and great-grandchildren Henry Small, Maive, Lana and Kline Keultjes. She has many surviving nieces, nephews and cousins who she loved deeply. She was predeceased by her parents and her siblings.
Bonnie and Skeeter owned and operated Ernie’s Fireside Inn in Knox from 1963 to 2000, inheriting the business from Ernie Small who started it in 1933. Ernie’s, as described by Skeeter, was “the finest eating and drinking establishment in the world,” and was a hub of social and culinary activity in Knox and Starke County for more than a half-century.
Bonnie was a tireless worker at Ernie’s, her home and volunteering. She had a strong faith and was an active member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church. She attended the sporting events of her sons and grandchildren, both in and out of town. She took up painting and playing the organ and enjoyed doing yard work. She enjoyed country and western music, including listening in the old days to WJJD AM radio out of Chicago. She and Skeeter were excellent ballroom dancers and loved the “big band” sounds of Jimmy Dorsey, Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller. Doug remembers watching with pride his parents as they were the best dancers at a band/dance pavilion that once existed at Disneyland in California.
Bonnie overcame losses in her life with her mother dying when Bonnie was just nine years old, her father passing the year after her marriage and losing her son Mark two weeks before his 21st birthday. She overcame these losses and the anxiety that stemmed from them living a life of love, charity and good humor. She showed kindness to so many. She provided food and other assistance to those in need in Knox, including Ernest Zank who dealt with a mental disability and Junior Vincent, a transgender person who dealt with many hardships and mistreatment. She led by example.
Bonnie traveled extensively. She and Skeeter took their boys to Disneyland, Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii and Florida and many trips to the family cottage in Hayward, Wisconsin. She and Skeeter traveled across Europe to Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Austria and a nearly month-long trip to Australia and New Zealand. Bonnie traveled with her sister Nina and niece Donell Howard to Europe and the Middle East, often with her great-nephew, Terry, who served in the Peace Corps. Bonnie traveled to Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Jordan. There were many trips across the United States, including a camping trip with good friend Carl Bohning to the Northeast and another with good friends Chase and Diane Barkley driving along the Mississippi River to New Orleans.
She adored and spent much time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren having them over for weekends, attending sporting, school and dance events, taking them for a weekend each summer to Indiana Beach and weeklong trips up to Wisconsin. She would laugh at Skeeter’s endless jokes and join him on rides in their 1914 Studebaker Touring car driving the country roads. In fact, she and Skeeter bought back the Model A that was her first car. She spent much time laughing and enjoying the company of her sisters and her nieces, Donell, Linda Setnor and Deb Swanson. She lived a full life. She was loved and loved us. She will be missed.
Visitation will be at Braman & Son Funeral Home in Knox on Sunday, March 12 from 1 to 5 pm, CST. The funeral will be at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Knox on Monday, March 13 at 11 am, CST. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be sent to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1600 S. Heaton St., Knox, IN 46534.
