| Introductions | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Snoho Aini | BA W | 1995 |
| Snoho Barbara | B-LC R | 1993 |
| Snoho Beauty | BA LB | 1985 |
| Snoho Belle | A-LC V | 2009 |
| Snoho Bernie | BA Fl | 2009 |
| Snoho Betty | BB-FD Pr. | 1994 |
| Snoho Blizzard | B-LC W | 1991 |
| Snoho Butterscotch | B-C Y | 2007 |
| Snoho Christine | BA R/W Bi | 2004 |
| Snoho Christmas | BB-FD R/W Bi | 1995 |
| Snoho Crown | BB-C O | 1998 |
| Snoho David | BB-FD DR | 1987 |
| Snoho Diane | BB-LC W/Pr Bls | 1998 |
| Snoho Doris | BA DB | 2000 |
| Snoho Freckles | MB Y/R Var | 2005 |
| Snoho Glen | M-FD R | 2000 |
| Snoho Haily | MB Lv | 2010 |
| Snoho Heidy | BB-FD W/Pr Var | 2009 |
| Snoho Jess | A-ID Y | 2002 |
| Snoho Jewel | B-ID Pr | 1992 |
| Snoho JoJo | BA Br | 1990 |
| Snoho Joanne | B-IC Y | 2003 |
| Snoho Jona | B-ID O | 1994 |
| Snoho Les | BA L/Pr Var | 2009 |
| Snoho Lilac | BB-FD PR/W Bi | 2012 |
| Snoho Linda | M-FD Y | 1989 |
| Snoho Matthew | B-FD DR | 1999 |
| Snoho Midnight | BB-FD R | 1995 |
| Snoho Monica | ST DR | 2009 |
| Snoho Noel | AA-C GD | 2001 |
| Snoho Okra | MBA Br | 1994 |
| Snoho Patty | B-SC FL | 1994 |
| Snoho Peggy | BA Dp | 1994 |
| Snoho Penny | B-LC DPk | 1997 |
| Snoho Plum | B-FD Pr | 2003 |
| Snoho Red Umbrella | NX R | 2000 |
| Snoho Richard | MB L | 1997 |
| Snoho Roscoe | MB O | 1997 |
| Snoho Rusty | B-LC O | 1997 |
| Snoho Shirley | B-D V | 1987 |
| Snoho Skip | St O | 1998 |
| Snoho Snowball | BA W | 1998 |
| Snoho Sonia | BA Lv | 2002 |
| Snoho Spectacular | B-SC W | 1999 |
| Snoho Splash | BB-ID LB | 1985 |
| Snoho Storm | A-IC W | 2010 |
| Snoho Tammie | Ba Pk | 1986 |
| Snoho Triumph | A-SC DR | 1999 |
| Snoho Twister | B-ID DB | 2002 |
| Snoho Vickey | B-FD L | 1995 |
| Snoho Vonda | B-LC Y | 1993 |
| Snoho William | A-SC L | 1997 |
| Snoho Wonder | B-LC O | 1998 |
George W. “Bill” Bonneywell, was the father of “Snoho” dahlias. Bill had deep roots in the Pacific Northwest. Born in Everett, Washington in 1933, he lived his entire life in Snohomish County. As a boy, he lived on Maple Street in Everett with his brother and three sisters. Bill served in the US Army after he graduated from high school and following his discharge from the service in 1955, he returned to Everett. Bill and one of his local friends occupied a lot of their free time raising and racing homing pigeons. On one occasion, when Bill was at his friend’s house working with these pigeons, he met one of the neighbor girls, Ida Councilman. Bill and Ida hit it off right away, and before long, they married. They found a house with a little land in Snohomish, and it was there that they raised their three children, Joanne, Bill and David. The Bonneywells lived in that house on 60th Street for their entire 55 years of married life.
Bill briefly worked as a clerk for the Milwaukee Railroad, but eventually went to work at Scott Paper Mill in Everett. Bill worked at Scott for 37 years, until his retirement in 1993. When he wasn’t working, Bill continued his hobby of racing pigeons, and in the 1970s, he decided to start growing dahlias. Eventually he and Ida had hundreds of varieties growing in their home dahlia garden, where they also started hybridizing. Bill decided on “Snoho” as his origination prefix, inspired by his lifelong home, Snohomish County. In the late 1970s, the Bonneywells joined Snohomish County Dahlia Society, which became their home club. They were also involved in the Seattle Dahlia Society, where Bill served as the secretary for a time, and the Inland Empire Dahlia Society in Spokane. Bill was also actively involved in the Pacific Northwest Dahlia Conference.
DAHLIA HYBRIDIZING
As is so often the case in the dahlia world, Bill “came for the dahlias but he stayed for the people.” Bill became an enthusiastic student of hybridization and was mentored and supported by some of the best. Two of his greatest influences were outstanding hybridizers, Gordie Leroux of Kenora dahlias, as well as Dick Matthies, breeder of Fidalgo dahlias. Bill’s property in Snohomish was a perfect place to grow dahlias, with beautiful soft dark-brown soil. In any given year, he grew 700 named varieties of dahlias, as well as 700 seedlings. Bill loved the challenge of developing new dahlias. He chose their names from family, as well as people that he knew through friends. He even named some dahlias for people working in his communities, such as waitresses or residents living in a Senior Living home in Marysville, WA.
Whether Bill had a favorite dahlia is unknown, but it is well known that he had a special fondness for the ball form. He started hybridizing in earnest in the early 1980s and many of his favorites were balls or mini-balls. Bill was prolific, introducing many ADS sanctioned varieties – he currently has 45 named varieties in the ADS Online Classification Guide. David Bates of the UK attributes 55 varieties to Bill.
Like many other dahlia growers, Bill was always finding ways to grow more and more of his favorite flower. He developed his ability to increase stock of favorite varieties and originations by taking dahlia cuttings. Because new introductions are often scarce, dahlia growers who wanted to obtain them in the first year were often disappointed. Bill’s ability to take cuttings came in handy. He would purchase tubers of the newest varieties, often at fundraising tuber auctions, where originators would have donated one or two of their introductions. Bill was famous for always being the first to bid, and eventually winning these coveted originations. Some of his closest friends from those days benefited from Bill’s generosity, because he always shared with them. His friends will say that Bill made sure they never had to go without the newest and best varieties, which they otherwise might not have been able to find or afford.
DAHLIA SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS
By the 1980s, Bill was active as a dahlia exhibitor at dahlia shows. After participating in judges’ training for a number of years, Bill eventually became an ADS Certified Senior Judge. He took great pride in his commitment to help judge known varieties as well as new seedlings at dahlia shows and in trial gardens. He really enjoyed helping others to learn the art of judging, and he continued his own participation as a dahlia judge right up to the end of his life.
Participating in dahlia shows became a large part of Bill and Ida’s social life. For years, they were part of a familiar group to show up at dahlia shows across the Pacific Northwest. Richard and Gloria Williams, Tom and Twyla Ball, Sumio MiTai, Dorothy and Larry Manwell often traveled as a group to shows in the states of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, BC. Bill also showed his support for the fledgling North Central Washington Dahlia Society for years, traveling over the Cascades to judge. He and a handful of ADS judges devoted hours on the Saturday of the show in order to ensure that this small ADS affiliate’s show was properly judged.
Bill usually attended any ADS National Shows that were within driving distance, but because he didn’t like to fly, he passed on the opportunity to attend the 1979 national show in Washington, DC, which his wife Ida attended with a friend. National shows he attended included Spokane in 1980, Vancouver, BC in 1997, the Federation National Show in 2004 and the Snohomish County Dahlia Society National Show in Everett in 2009. He didn’t have a favorite section to enter, but he did like to exhibit some of his best originations. Some of his most successful show flowers were Snoho Storm, Snoho Doris, Snoho JoJo and Snoho Blizzard.
If you were to ask Bill what tips and tricks he could recommend for show preparation, staging or transporting dahlias to shows, he would tell you to have a spouse who can help you the way Ida helped him. He would always select the flowers to be entered, but Ida would do the staging, sometimes staying up all night after they had both worked all day. By morning, their entries would be meticulously staged and ready to make their appearance at the show of the day.
BILL’S LEGACY
Bill Bonneywell lives on through his many Snoho originations which are still being grown throughout the dahlia world. Richard Johnson, son of Bill and Ida’s daughter Joanne, learned a bit about dahlias from time he spent helping his grandparents in their dahlia garden. After a while, Richard decided to try his hand at hybridizing. He eventually produced a dahlia that he named Midnight Star, O DR/lv in 2009. Imagine Bill’s pride when Richard’s origination received the Gullikson medal for both the trial garden and the bench, and in 2010, the Stanley Johnson Award, one of the ADS’s highest honors. Midnight Star has continued to be the leader in its class to this day. Bill’s memory lives on in many ways, including a beautiful purple mini-ball developed by his friend Dick Williams in 2020, and named “Skipley Snoho Bill.”
OBITUARY OF BILL BONNEYWELL
George W. (Bill) Bonneywell Jr passed away December 18, 2011. He was born on September 17, 1933 in Everett, WA.
George passed away peacefully on December 18, 2011 after fighting a year long battle with possible ALS. He was born on September 17, 1933 in Everett, WA.
He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Marion.
He is survived by his wife, Ida of 55 years of marriage; his brother, David (Dianne); his sister, Marilyn (Ken) Ahlf, Barbara (Bob) Eaton, Georgia (George) Perez; his daughter, Joanne Johnson; his sons, Dave and Bill (Peggy); grandsons, Matthew Bonneywell, Michael and Richard Johnson; granddaughter, Krystal Johnson; also many nieces and nephews.
He graduated from Everett High School. He enlisted in the Army in 1952 and discharged in 1955. He worked at Scott Paper Mill for 37 years, before retiring in 1993.
He raised and raced homing pigeons for several years. He was an avid dahlia grower with his wife, growing up to 1000 plants a year. They staged, showed and judged at Dahlia Shows, across the Northwest for over 30 years. He was also instrumental in the start up programs for youth football, basketball and baseball in Snohomish in the 1970's, coaching all for many years.
His family would like to express thanks to the staff at Bethany At Pacific and Hospice. He received very good care.
Visitation will be on Friday, Dec 23, 2011 at 10am at Snohomish United Methodist Church, 2400 Lake Avenue, Snohomish, WA with a Memorial Service to follow celebrating his life at 12pm and Graveside Services to follow at Floral Hills, Lynnwood, WA. Published in The Herald (Everett) on December 23, 2011
Date of Profile Submitted: October 16, 2021
Author: Richard Williams interviewed by Linda Holmes-Cook
Dahlia Legend’s Full Name: George W. (Bill) Bonneywell