11/03/2025
Bonnie Bee Hughes Lane, 82, passed away Friday, October 31, 2025, in Center, Texas. She was born November 8, 1942, in Center, Texas to Velton B Hughes and Bonnie Ruth Franks Hughes. All are welcome to join the family for a committal service Tuesday, November 4 at 11:00 a.m. at the Pleasant Grove Cemetery on County Road 1470 between Center and Timpson.
Anyone who knew Bonnie Bee knew that everything involved a story – often a long one that led to many others. Her story began in her beloved Shelby County, and her first several years were spent living on her family’s farm in the Rainsville Community between Arcadia and Huber. Later, much of her youth was spent in the Golden Triangle – usually spending weeks on the coast and weekends at the farm. She treasured many memories of her Daddy’s passion for tending to cattle, crops, and business affairs, and she often shared the lessons she learned while hanging around the historic Center Square when her Uncle Vause was the jailer; her Uncle Voyde had been the county clerk for a time as well, and Bonnie Bee’s love for history and politics only grew with time. Perhaps it found new life during the time she spent with her mother at SFA “helping” her mother get her master’s degree. She shared her mother’s passion for education, eventually obtaining a degree of her own and becoming a teacher.
Bonnie Bee was reared learning how to run a household. She helped prepare meals from a young age, and her culinary abilities will always be remembered – particularly for her chicken and dumplings and banana pudding, which were always staples. She has preached many lectures about the necessity of using a whole chicken and cutting it up yourself. And the Nilla wafers had to be carefully and perfectly crumbled across the top of the pudding. Everything was done with precision, no matter how long it took. When she married at the young age of 14, she was prepared to make a home – though she proudly finished school first. She then embarked on a journey as a military wife, often recounting her time in Anniston, Alabama. Her razor-sharp memory allowed her to recall the exact amount she was allotted for groceries each week and detailed conversations she had with residents of Anniston over 60 years ago.
Apart from teaching, Bonnie Bee worked in various other fields. She spent time working for the employment commission, helping others find jobs, and she took on an executive role with Bethlehem Steel for a time. She would tell of road trips and phone calls she made in this capacity, and anyone who knew her could attest that no other person could speak with such conviction on any topic important to her. She once attempted to take a job as a pharmaceutical saleslady, but this did not work out because she did not have enough faith in the products to call forth her usual conviction and persuasion. She was proud to have been the first female saleslady for the Red Stick Linen Company, based in Baton Rouge. She helped the company expand into Texas during her time with them, and she particularly loved one story from her time with this company when she attended a banquet as the only female in a huge room of hundreds of men. Someone was supposed to give a speech but could not handle the pressure, and none of the men would volunteer. Bonnie Bee, with no advance notice or preparation and little information on the subject, took the stage and undoubtedly captivated the audience.
Everything she did, she did with passion and energy. This included simple tasks such as driving. Let us not forget that Bonnie Bee’s passing represents the end of an era in many ways. From 1976 until well into the 21st Century, she drove nothing but the largest Oldsmobile she could get at the time. She was distraught when the brand was discontinued.
Bonnie Bee had stayed in Orange after her parents retired to the family farm in Shelby County in the 1970s, but about a decade later she relocated as well because her Daddy wanted her to be with him as he finished out his earthly life. She returned to Shelby County, temporarily at first, but ended up staying and taking on her newfound role as an aunt. While she never had children of her own, she directed her affections toward her niece and nephew, Shelly and Jesse, who had come into the world just before Bonnie Bee returned to Shelby County. The impact she had on them, and then on the grand nephews and nieces, will never be forgotten. She was a force to be reckoned with in every respect. She possessed an indomitable spirit, and she could talk without ceasing for more hours on end than anyone else could even stay awake. She never stopped trying to impart knowledge and wisdom. Once you realized that every single thing had to be done in her own unique way, there was a lot to learn and appreciate.
Bonnie Bee is preceded in death by her beloved parents, Velton B Hughes and Bonnie Ruth Franks Hughes; her brother, John Madison Hughes; and her grandparents, Madison Barto Hughes, Mary Belle Webb Hughes, J.W.B. Franks, and Mary Leticia Murray Franks.
She is survived by:
Niece, Shelly Bee Hughes Cantrell and husband, James
Nephew, Jesse Madison Hughes and wife, Tori
Grand-nephews:
Brady Lane Wells and fiancé, Bayley
Brandt Cabot Wells
Heath Madison Hughes
Grand-nieces:
Valley Rae Hughes
Bostyn Michelle Hughes
The family would like to express their deepest gratitude to the management and staff of Lakeside Village Assisted Living for devoting their sincerest efforts toward Bonnie Bee’s care throughout the past 6 months.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Bonnie Bee’s memory to the Pleasant Grove Cemetery Association – a cause to which Bonnie Bee was deeply devoted throughout her life and, for a long while, ruled with an iron fist as its President.
Visit www.WymanRobertsFH.com for memories and condolences. Services are under the direction of Wyman Roberts Funeral Home in San Augustine.
