In the fall of 1982, Joe married Mary Ann Bonsall, and they have two daughters, Jennifer (Dan) and Sabrina (Doug), and two grandchildren, Breanne and Luke, as well as two great grandsons, Chance and Grey. Joe and Mary have a home on old Hickory Lake and maintain a 350-acre farm on the Tennessee / Kentucky line.

 

An avid sports fan, Joe loved his childhood team, the Philadelphia Phillies. He also loved football and pulled for his hometown Tennessee Titans and Vanderbilt Commodores.

 

Joe studied banjo for thirteen years—and loved the instrument. In his own words, however, he “should be better!” Joe, or rather Joseph, was a well-known and successful author. His first four books, The Molly the Cat Series, popularized his love of cats. Through the years, he and Mary have rescued dozens of kittens, rehoming them, and sometimes taking them into their home. As of 2024, they lived with five, Mitty, Crockett, Barney, Maggie Mae, and Jack. I See Myself: Musings Memories of a Blessed Live is his eleventh and final published book, a memoir, released in November 2024 by Fidelis Publishing LLC.

 

Joe, along with the other members of The Oak Ridge Boys, was a member of the Grand Ole Opry, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and a 2015 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The group received many other awards during his tenure with them (1973-2023), including Grammys, Country Music Association awards, Academy of Country Music awards, and American Music Awards.

 

In early 2024, Joe announced his retirement from touring due to the onset of a neuromuscular disorder. He died, due to complications of ALS, on July 9, 2024, at the age of 76.

 

 

 

In this exclusive for josephsbonsall.com, we asked Joe to answer questions that should shed light on what we may NOT already know about Joseph S. Bonsall.

 

What is your favorite color?

 

JSB: Not sure… probably RED… or maybe BLUE… yellow is also nice.

 

 

What was your first car?

 

JSB: After my father had a stroke I inherited his 1959 Ford station wagon, but I cracked it up.

 

 

What came next?

 

JSB: A 1959 winged monster Chevy Impala, but I cracked that up as well and, before you ask, next came a 1963 Impala convertible. It was gray. But after I cracked it up I had it fixed and painted red. I drove that car for years.

 

 

What was your first brand NEW car?

 

JSB: I had been driving used Buicks and Caddys right up to 1982. After “Elvira” hit I bought a brand new Cadillac Eldrado. It was black with red interior and had a buggy top and very cool wheels. The windows were tinted and I drove that baby for 10 years.

 

 

What do you drive now?

 

JSB: I slowly morphed into a truck guy and these days I drive a 2014 Ford F150. I LOVE my TRUCK!!!!

 

 

Was your first pet a cat?

 

JSB: No it was actually a dog named Lucky. Later on I had a black lab named TaBoo. Growing up in Philly in a row house most of the cats I knew as a kid were miserable alley cats. I don’t think I could have ever imagined I would one day adore felines, and I do!

 

 

Where you a tough guy growing up in a city like that?

 

JSB: Well sometimes you had to be. There is a fine art to getting out of a fight even if it means running away, however sometimes a bully must be stopped and you must go to any length to solve that problem. I think that is true today, whether it concerns a street bully, a school bully, an egotistical loud-mouthed blowhard, or a terrorist.

 

 

Okay. Change that gear? You live on a lake, are you a boat guy?

 

JSB: Oh yes. I have always had a runabout or ski boat, and all through my fifties Mary and I owned a 40-foot Chris Craft Express Cruiser. After I bought my farm in 1998 I sold the big boat and bought a big John Deere Tractor. I do love the water. Whether it is the ocean, a lake, a river, or my two and a half miles of Salt Lick Creek at my farm. I love the peace and God’s presence I feel by or on the water.

 

 

What do you like to eat?

 

JSB: I LOVE a great steak. I love sushi. I love pizza! I love pancakes. I love anything that Mary prepares in the kitchen. I am very fortunate to have a beautiful wife who is also a gourmet cook.

 

 

What are your drinking preferences?

 

JSB: Diet Cherry 7 UP. I always have one. There is even one by my bed every night. I also love Snapple Diet Peach Tea and, of course, a great cup of coffee! I also love a fine Cabernet. I am not a connoisseur of wine, but Mary says I AM a wine snob. I also enjoy some Woodford Reserve Bourbon on occasion. That’s really about it.

 

 

Okay, some short questions… Country or rock and roll?

 

JSB: You could add bluegrass, Gospel and light jazz. I love them all, as long as the song is good. I am more song oriented then genre oriented. I love a well-written song.

 

 

Favorite TV show?

 

JSB: I have quite a few. I am really going to miss Justified, as this is the last season. I LOVE Game of Thrones, and I regularly watch some police shows, like SVU, Criminal Minds, and Chicago PD. I will also admit to being a Grey’s Anatomy fan.

 

 

Favorite Movies?

 

JSB: All the guy flicks like Godfather, Goodfellas, Tombstone, Hunt for Red October, and a few chick flicks like Sleepless in Seattle. I really like movies of all kinds if the storytelling is good. The first 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan is the most emotional thing I have seen on a big screen, because my daddy was there.

 

 

Favorite Books?

 

JSB: Man that is hard. I’ve read so many books by so many authors. Steven King is my favorite fiction author. I read a lot of political books and even more books about war. I am a student of World War II and the Civil War, but I have read books on every conflict. But, to answer your question… God’s Holy Word… The Bible!

 

 

Vanilla or Chocolate?

 

JSB: Chocolate

 

 

Fruits or Veggies?

 

JSB: Fruit

 

 

Favorite Fruit?

 

JSB: Mango

 

 

Do you have a favorite vegetable?

 

JSB: Lima beans. This is starting to sound like a lie detector test.

 

 

HAHA….Okay, Joe, to wrap this thing up… try to name 10 things that people may NOT know about you. Things they might be surprised to hear!

 

JSB: Oh, man … I am not sure I can come up with 10 though. In no certain order…

 

I once wanted to be a veterinarian and almost once went to police school.

 

I am an avid birder. I saw an Eastern Towhee for the first time the other day and freaked out.

 

People would not believe how hard I work on my farm. Weed-eating, small tractor, big tractor, chainsaw work, etc.

 

I love guns, but I do NOT hunt.

 

I never went to college... although I think most folks know that. My college was the road and hard work.

 

I suffer from Dupuytren's contracture in my right hand. I can still pick my banjo though, so I don’t worry about it.

 

I have split my head open over a dozen times in my life. If I ever go bald I am going to have one scarred up ugly head.

 

I love sushi but I do NOT do tentacles.

 

I enjoy TWITTER (who doesn’t know that?) I am trying to get to ten, so…

 

I have seen the movie We Bought a Zoo eight times