Strictly Family Stuff

(See also the separate Professional History).

BOB'S GRANDFATHER, William Bone, was born in Middleborough, England in 1878, the only son of Abraham and Susan (Hagan) Bone. While William was still an infant, the family emigrated to the U.S. and settled near Bowling Green, Ohio. In 1902, William married Gertrude Ordway, of a well-known local family. (Some Ordways had fought in the Civil War.) Will and Gertie had three sons. Jay and Russell grew up to be childless. The third son, Robert O. Bone, became the father of Robert W. Bone. (“Bob” in this account.)

BOB BONE ENTERED THE WORLD in Gary, Indiana in 1932, the only child of Robert O. and Juanita (Clapp) Bone. Robert O. taught art for 15 years in high school at Pekin, Illinois, and later became an art professor at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, coincidentally returning the family to the ancestral Ohio home town. This had the effect of splitting young Bob's high-school career in half -- two years in Pekin, two years in Bowling Green. Meanwhile, Robert O. exhibited in major shows all over the country. He also became a co-author of a widely acclaimed text book, Art Fundamentals, which is still used in universities all over the world. Bob's mother was an accomplished musician, performing principally on the flute.

BOB WAS GRADUATED from Bowling Green State University  in 1954, somehow without taking a course from his father. After a stint as an army officer, and then knocking around the world a bit as a civilian (England--Belgium--Puerto Rico--Brazil -- see Professional History), and after a few years of making home brew in Greenwich Village, Bob married Sara Ann Cameron, of Gisborne, New Zealand at the United Nations in New York in 1966. (Sara is a descendant of one of the founding fathers of New Zealand and his wife, a Maori chieftainess.) Bob and Sara had two children, Christina Ann (born in New York, 1967), and David Robert (born in Mallorca, 1968). Christina and David were bilingual until 1971.

THE FAMILY MOVED FROM SPAIN to Honolulu in 1971, where Christina and David grew up. Christina then went to New York University Film School. David studied film and video production at Leeward Community College in Honolulu.

BOTH CHRISTINA AND DAVID are now active in the film business, and have worked on several major productions. David married and divorced, but has given Bob and Sara one wonderful grandson, Harley Nigil Bone, born in Honolulu, 1989, and so far the only hope of carrying on the family name. In 2001, David married again, this time to the former Graciela di Giovanna of Buenos Aires. David divides his time between Los Angeles and Honolulu.

IN MAY, 1998, BOB AND SARA also became the official guardians of a handsome fellow who came already saddled with the name Robert (born in 1988). Bob, Sara, and Robert (different last name) continued to live in the Maunawili area of Kailua on the island of Oahu until 2008. That year, however, a new adventure began for the Bones. After two years in Spain and 38 in Hawaii, Bob and Sara Bone moved back to the U.S. Mainland, beginning a new life in the Bay Area of San Francisco.