Lula May Willard and Paul Young Bonner were married on May 12, 1911 by Rev. J. E. Browne at her parents' home. May told granddaughter, Susan Bonner, that she waited until her father was gone and got her mother to write a note permitting her to get married. Paul was twenty-two but May was only sixteen. Daughter of Benjamin Willard and Nancy Elizabeth Yates, May was born at Lakes Chapel on February 23, 1895. Her son Carl Yates recalled, "Mama was born cross-eyed. When she was a small child Grandpa Willard took her into Fairfield where there was a doctor performing surgeries in the hotel. After her eyes were "clipped," a lady staying at the hotel lent her a bonnet to protect her from the sun. When Grandma Willard saw the wagon coming down the road, all she could see was this small child with a huge black bonnet on. She became almost hysterical believing Mama was blind. After that, May always wore glasses and always put them on before she got out of bed and Carl Yates has some of the small wire-rimmed ones she wore as a child. Her sister Laura called her Mayme. May's smile lit up the room and she made everyone feel welcome; Paul adored her and worked diligently to provide for his family. Paul and May celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary at the home of their granddaughter, Jeanette Lambert Heath, in Fairfield. May suffered from kidney problems for about thirty years before her death on March 19, 1964. Bobby Ray reported the following, "Every week Uncle Paul sent a check to this hospital [in Corsicana] to the doctor that doctored Aunt May. Twenty-five dollars a week. I can remember hearing my Daddy [John Lee Bonner] say, ‘Paul, I don't know how you do it." He'd [Paul] say, ‘Well, May's health comes first.'" Paul and May were parents of five children: Benjamin Young; Ernest Clyde; Mary Pauline; Carl Yates; Charles Travis.
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Texas Death Certificate: #16069

Name: Lula May Willard Bonner
Death date: 19 Mar 1964
Death place: Freestone County Hospital (stayed 2 1/2 weeks) in Fairfield, Freestone, Texas
Gender: Female
Race or color (on document): White
Age at death: 69 years
Birth date: 23 Feb 1895
Birth place: Freestone Co Texas
Marital status: Married
Father name: Ben Willard
Mother name: Lizzie Willard
Occupation: Housewife
Residence: 8 Miles North of Fairfield, Precinct #1, Freestone Co., TX.
Informant: Paul Y. Bonner
Cemetery name: Bonner Cemetery
Burial place: Freestone Co., TX.
Burial date: 3-20-1964
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The family prefers the spelling as May instead of Mae as found on her tombstone.