Arlayne Bonness

Arlayne May (Kyes) Bonness, age 92, passed peacefully on January 4, 2023, in Overland Park, Kansas, surrounded by family.

She was born and raised on a farm near Archer, Nebraska. Arlayne graduated from Central City High School in 1947. She attended Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she studied music, sang in the girl’s Glee Club and the Chapel Choir, and was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority.

On May 31, 1952, Arlayne married Harold Richard Bonness and moved to Borger, Texas where Harold worked as an engineer with Phillips Petroleum. After a few years, the couple and their first child moved to Bellevue, Nebraska, where Harold was employed as an Electrical Engineer with Allied Chemical. Arlayne later taught choir at Papillion High School.  In 1974, she earned her master’s degree in counseling from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. After completing her degree, she worked as a Guidance Counselor at Bellevue Senior High School until she retired. Both Harold and Arlayne were active in the First United Presbyterian Church in Bellevue. They had four children.

In 1990, Harold and Arlayne moved to Tucson, Arizona where they lived in the Saddlebrook Community. In 1992, they moved to Holiday Island, Arkansas where Harold died in 1995. In 2004, Arlayne moved to Peoria (Phoenix), Arizona to be near her daughter, Annette (Bonness) Homan, and her family. In 2015, Arlayne moved to the Tallgrass Retirement Community in Overland Park, Kansas to be near her son, Bob Bonness. Arlayne lived in Overland Park for the remainder of her life.

Arlayne was a ‘doer’ and had a hard time sitting still. She valued “order” including tidiness and cleanliness. She was an excellent homemaker, cook and seamstress. She created beauty through her garden and the flowers and vegetables she tended; the food she cooked; the art and home furnishings she collected; the clothes she sewed for her children; and the music she played and sang as an accomplished pianist and choral singer. She brought order to her home and work, always doing “first things first.” She instilled discipline in her children, students, and others. Arlayne enjoyed traveling. She especially found joy in spending time with her four children, eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She was dearly loved by her family, and they are thankful for God’s care through her.

Arlayne was the daughter of Leonard Crites Kyes and Mable Angel Funk. She is survived by her sisters: Marilyn Ann (Kyes) Kroeger and Alice Jean (Kyes) Daniels; her children, Richard Bonness, Robert (Chris) Bonness, Annette (Ben) Homan, and William (Linda) Bonness; her grandchildren: Eric Bonness, Beau (Tiffany) Bonness, Sara (Adam) Brunfeldt, Laura (Ben) Fraser, Tess Homan, Ethan Homan, Carter Homan, Daniel Bonness, Lauren Bonness, Kristina Bonness, and Rebecca Bonness; and her great-grandchildren: Savannah, Emmaus, Maddison, Abigail, Lenna, Lucy, and Luke.

A private family service will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Arlayne’s name to the Multiple sclerosis (MS) Society of America or the Omaha chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The family can be reached at whales5661@gmail.com.