Bonner died Saturday after suffering from leukemia, fellow commissioners said.
The Democrat served on many boards and commissions, representingBeaufort County regionally and statewide. Bonner, a retiredinsurance agent, was mayor of Aurora for 10 years and a member ofthe town Board of Commissioners for eight years.
Bonner received the state's highest honor, the Order of theLong Leaf Pine, and in 1999 won an Outstanding County CommissionersAward from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners.
Friends and colleagues on Sunday described Bonner as aknowledgeable commissioner who dedicated most of his life to publicservice.
Bonner was instrumental in securing funding for Beaufort CountySchools and fostering a long-term relationship with the county andthe phosphate-mining operations of the former Texas Gulf, now PCSPhosphate, said Democratic Commissioner David Moore.
"I thought that Frank was one of the most dedicated publicofficials that I have known," Moore said.
The executive committee of the Beaufort County Democratic Partywill recommend a Democrat to serve out Bonner's term, which ends inDecember.
A funeral is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Peter'sEpiscopal Church in Washington. Burial will follow in OakdaleCemetery.
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