A Celebration of Rick’s life will be held at his farm on October 4, 2025, from 12:00-8:00 p.m. Attendees will need to bring their own seating and beverages. If you aren’t certain of the location, please call Kristin at (731)501-6418. If possible, please carpool as there is limited parking.
Richard “Rick” Bonds, age 71, of Medon, TN passed into Glory on September 9, 2025.
Rick found joy in the minutiae and in the grandeur of life. He was fascinated by everything around him, from the most mundane to the technologically complex. He was part of the Civil Air Patrol and Confederate Air Force, earning his pilot’s license after a free lesson that had him hooked.
Rick attended Memphis State University (University of Memphis) and earned his Juris Doctorate. He’s driven tanker trucks, taught motorcycle safety, acted as Captain/CFO for the Decatur County Sherriff, and delivered electrical materials around the southeast since retiring from corporate law.
Rick loved animals of all kinds and rescued, adopted, tended to, and raised many. During different stages of his life, his hobbies included restoring World War II vehicles (including the Memphis Belle), fox hunting, pyrotechnics, skydiving, rocketry, and building firearms.
Woven throughout all of his many accomplishments over the years were the relationships he built; whether side-by-side working on a project or mentoring. He taught life lessons and always gave the most sound advice. His mentors, mentees, and his students will always remember that one thing he taught them for the rest of their lives. The way he lived his life inspired others, and the effects will ripple through many generations. A pivotal point in his life was attending, then serving, in the FaithWalk Jackson community. His FaithWalk, West Jackson Baptist, Bethel Baptist, and men’s Bible study group were extended family. Rick was truly a Renaissance man and a gentleman.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Wallace Bonds and Jessie Fletcher Bonds. He is survived by his beloved wife, Kristin Sanderson Bonds; sister, Barbara Bonds Kolacek-Cox (Kerry); nieces, Julia Parr (Scott) and Erin Holomshek (Bryn); great nieces and nephews, Lillian Curry, River Stevens, Lake Smith, and Finnegan Holomshek; sister-in-law, Donna Hill and her children and grandchildren; and brother-in-law, David Sanderson. He will also be missed by many beloved aunts, uncles, and a very close knit group of wonderful cousins.
The date for a celebration of his life is to be determined and will be posted at this site and on Facebook. His charitable endeavors mostly involved BirthChoice of Jackson, TN and promoting reading. If you would like to honor him away from his celebration of life, please donate or volunteer at BirthChoice or gather some books and donate to a local lending library or community library in his name.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

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