John (Jack) Bonniville

John (Jack) William Bonniville was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on October 4, 1934. They had three children, John William (Bill) Jr. (Sharon), James (Jim) Ralph (Jan), and Marian Gray Scullion (John), all of Columbia; four grandchildren: Ashton Lunceford Hanson (Johnny), Myrk Orvsson, Elizabeth Keels (Jared), and John William (Will) III (Sally); and four great-grandchildren, Asher Dale and Rylee Ruth Hanson, Nolan Alan, and Sarah Gray Keels, as well as his very special nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Sarah Gray; their son, Robert Tyson; his parents, Ralph and Marian Lucille Bonniville; and his sisters, Roxanne Gilman and Patsy Hawkins.

Jack married his high school sweetheart, Sarah Gray Wallace, in 1956. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, and brother-in-law. He loved spending time with his family, and our memories of Dad/Daddy Jack are countless and wonderful.

He graduated from Virginia Tech (VPI) with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering. He later received a fellowship to Yale University, where he completed graduate studies in Transportation Engineering in 1959. He was a Registered Professional Engineer in South Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi, and West Virginia. He was also a registered member of the Federation of Registered Engineers for 32 European countries. He spent four years with the Virginia Department of Highways, serving as District Traffic Engineer for the 12 easternmost counties in the state. Then he served for three years as the first City Traffic Engineer for the newly formed city of Chesapeake, Virginia. In 1967, Jack joined Wilbur Smith and Associates at its headquarters in Columbia, South Carolina, as a Project Manager. He had met Wilbur at Yale in 1958, where he taught a weekly class in transportation finance, and his professional objective was to work for him. In this capacity, he directed transportation projects and studies in cities and states throughout the southern US. In 1970, he was promoted to be the Manager of WSA’s Columbia office. In 1972, Jack was transferred to lead the firm’s Australian operations headquartered in Melbourne. There, he was responsible for the firm’s offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Upon returning to Columbia in 1975. Jack was promoted to Vice President in charge of the firm’s extensive International Operations. He continued in this capacity for the next 25 years, until his retirement in 2000 as Senior Vice President and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. In this position, his responsibilities encompassed the coordination of the firm’s permanent overseas offices in London, Cairo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia; and the development, contracting and management of transportation projects in more than 75 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and South and Central America. This included serving on the team responsible for planning and constructing the $8 billion Eurotunnel project linking Great Britain and France. The firm was one of the first foreign engineering firms to be selected for a major project in China. They planned and designed Singapore’s underground urban rail system and were part of the team that designed Hong Kong’s international Chek Lap Kok airport.

In 2006, Jack was named a member of South Carolina’s Order of the Palmetto in recognition of Wilbur Smith Associates’ positive contributions to promoting South Carolina worldwide through its international transportation planning, design, and construction management services. He was active in professional organizations in SC, serving as President of the South Carolina Society of Professional Engineers and being selected as its Engineer of the Year. He also served as President of the Consulting Engineers of South Carolina and was named its Engineer of the Year. He also served as President of the South Carolina Council of Engineering Societies. Nationally, he served on the International Activities Committee of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences, the Transportation Planning Council of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and the International Engineering Committee of the American Consulting Engineers Council.

After his retirement, until his illness in 2013 made activities more difficult, he enjoyed more time for travel with Sarah, tennis and golf with friends, and fishing with his boys. He also volunteered at the SC Archives and History Center and CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). At CASA, he served as an advocate and sat on its board of directors.

Jack was a member of Bethel United Methodist Church in Forest Acres since 1967, where he chaired and served on many committees over the years, including Church Council, Trustees, and Stewardship. He also enjoyed being a member of the United Methodist Men. He loved sharing his “Anecdotes from Abroad” with this great group of men.

The service for Jack will be held at 3:00 PM on Sunday, September 20, at Bethel United Methodist Church. A committal service will follow in the church Memorial Garden.

The family will receive friends in the church sanctuary beginning at 2:00 PM.

Memorials may be made to Bethel United Methodist Church, 4600 Daniel Drive, Columbia, SC 29206.

Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family.