Charles Bonanno

Charles "Charlie", "Bob" Bonanno, age 78 of St. Paul Park, Minnesota, passed away November 11, 2016 at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Memorial service 7 pm, Friday, November 18, 2016 at Kok Funeral Home, 7676 – 80th Street S, Cottage Grove with visitation one hour prior. Memorials may be directed to Catholic Elder Care, 817 NE Main Street, Minneapolis, MN 55413.

Charles was born on June 4, 1938 in Brighton, Massachusetts and graduated from high school in East Providence, Rhode Island in 1956. He entered active duty in the US Army and served in the Army Reserves for the next several years. Charlie worked as a truck driver for a few years and owned a local gas station for a short time until deciding to go back into truck driving. As his kids were growing up, he enjoyed camping and also developed a love for racing cars and fixing the engines in his restored muscle cars. He was an avid Elvis Presley fan and randomly ran into him while serving in the Army. In 1977 he moved to Minnesota where he met Nancy Murphy and they were married May 3, 1980 in Maplewood. They lived in St. Paul Park where they enjoyed 38 years together. Charlie and Nancy owned and operated their own trucking company and went on many transports together. They also went on several trips together including 49 of the 50 states and cruises to the Caribbean and Alaska.

Charlie is survived by his wife Nancy; six children, Dean (significant other, Claudette) Bonanno, Deloris (Steve) Dewey, Gary (significant other, April) Bonanno, Barbra Day, Charles Jr. and Dale Bonanno; grandchildren Stefanie, Samantha, Lauren, Forrest, Skylar, Ivy, Lily and one great-grandson, Ian; brothers Pat (Dale), Joe (Joyce), Mike and Tony; sisters Diane Bonanno, Beverly Moore and Teresa (Paul) Pare as well as many nieces and nephews.