Jim Bono, 77, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was laid to peacefully rest on January 30, 1985, after a fall doing what he was known for, helping those who cannot help themselves. Though he will be missed dearly for the love he gave, the humor he spread, and the support everyone felt. He will be remembered and thought of fondly knowing his hard-working arms will be given rest and be serviced by the lord just as he did for his community. Born and witnessed by God on February 23, 1907, he lived in the city of Pittsburg for the rest of his life, moving from his family house in 1925 to his permanent residence in South shore after marrying his wife, Lucille Bono.

His early life consisted of working the family farm alongside his family, Robert Bono his father, Lucy Bono, his mother, and two siblings, younger brother Noah Bono and Older sister, Imani Bono, Inherited by his grandfather Whitney Bono where he would work till his 20s after an incident leading to his arrest for public intoxication, it is here where he would meet his best friend Troy Maxson and later on meet his now wife, Lucille. Before this, in education, he would develop an interest in carpentry for the first time when creating a teddy bear out of wood for a Highschool lover. While they did not stay together for long, he would begin to compete after work creating various household items with his group of classmates for city-wide competitions, in 1911 he would win gold for his school gaining some notoriety, though always liked to listen rather than speak on his accomplishment and hobbies, like baseball. Later gaining the title of "The Follower" from his classmates. After his release in the county jail, he would set himself "on the straight and narrow", Gaining his job as a garbage collector with Troy and contributing to the community and his church in freelance carpentry.

After the death of his best friend in 1959, Troy Maxson moved on from his small career as a Garbage collector and moved onto the career path of carpentry in many different forms. Using the fund from his previous work, he would become part of a trade, earning his certificate in 1958. He continued to study further with mentors in the carpentry company, where he would work until retirement, with known contributions to neighboring houses where he would be known by many for his attention to detail and quality. He would later form the African American Union of Carpentry and the Black Inmate Scholarship to give back to the community who in his words, "Took good care of em' during the rough and dirty". With the support of the carpentry company, he would give monthly seminars to colleges and local venues looking for work and are interested in woodworking which he states is the highlight of his career. Jim would continue to teach, work, and inspire young people throughout his life until his death when an additional branch of education was created under his name at the company, he worked for 30+ years, in his honor.