Today I attended the funeral of Bonnie Lawson Green in Hancock County, Tennessee. Bonnie was the little girl in a photo I made in 1966 when I first met her and her mother on assignment for the Kingsport Times-News.  That haunting photo created a bond between myself and her family for the next 46 years. I saw Bonnie the next time when she was 15 years-old. She was a lively teenager living on the side of Clinch Mountain in Hancock County. I visited the family several other times over the years, taking a few photographs. Before I knew it, Bonnie was a grown young lady with a family of her own.  I felt a strange kinship to the Lawson family and visited them a few more times over the years. It is with deep regret that I find myself wishing I had keep better contact with the family over the years. Not only because I was interested in her because of the photo, but also because they accepted me as a part of their family. I last saw Bonnie a few months ago at a family gathering on her mother’s front porch. ( her father passed away a couple of years ago ) She was still the same independent, outspoken individual I remembered, but time and cancer had taken a toll on her. Looking frail and having lost her teeth to illness, she joked about her looks and was talkative…mostly about her family. She had been battling the cancer for some time and seemed to be doing better at the time.  She said that she and Ruby, her sister and very best friend, would come to Kingsport in a few weeks and we would get together for lunch.  Unfortunately, she was not able to make the trip.  Ruby left me a message with the news of Bonnie’s funeral. On a scenic hill near Bonnie’s home she was laid to rest as friends and family gathered around. No photos this time, just fond memories of the most memorable photo subject, and friend, I have known. Goodbye Bonnie…