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Carmelo Bonomo, age 88, of Hettinger, ND, passed away on Thursday evening, February 15, 2024 at the West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger, ND.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Tuesday, February 27, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Hettinger, ND.  Fr. Greg Hilzendeger will officiate and entombment will follow at the Dickinson Mausoleum in Dickinson, ND.  Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Monday, February 26, 2024 followed by Rosary/Vigil at 7:00 p.m. all at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Hettinger.

Carmelo Bonomo was born July 22, 1935 in Gioiosa Marea, Sicily to Michael and Rosaria Bonomo.  The second youngest of five children, Carmelo spent his childhood living by the Mediterranean Sea.  In 1952, he came to America with the dream of one day owning his own business.  While living and working in Dickinson, ND, under the sponsorship of Gene and Arlene Wilhelm, Carmelo decided to pursue his United States Citizenship.  During this time, Carmelo met his future bride, JoAnn Gulka, and they began dating.  On October 7 th, 1961 JoAnn married Carmelo in New Hradec, ND.  In January of 1963, JoAnn gave birth to their first son Michael and they moved to Oregon that spring.  Although, their time in Oregon was short, Carmelo worked for Ron Glass in Roseburg where he learned the dry-cleaning trade which would lead to his future endeavors.

A short time later, Carmelo, JoAnn and Michael would return to Dickinson, ND where Carmelo was employed at Excel Cleaners for several years.  In September of 1967, JoAnn gave birth to their second son, Joel.  Still determined to become a business owner, Carmelo became friends with Theo Barklay, owner of Hettinger Funeral Home, who encouraged him to consider Hettinger, ND as a place to start his own dry-cleaning business.  In May of 1970, they completed their family with the birth of their youngest son, Geno.

After taking Theo's advice, Carmelo & JoAnn made a few trips to Hettinger to see if it would be possible to build a life in this small SWND community. There was no question, Hettinger was the place!  So, in 1971, the family moved to Hettinger ND where Carmelo and JoAnn started plans to open up Carmel's 1-Hour Dry Cleaning on Main Street.  The move to Hettinger was a smooth transition as JoAnn was already a Nurse and took a position at the Hettinger Hospital.  While the Cleaner's was being built, Carmelo spent his days taking care of their three boys.  That November Carmel's 1-Hour Dry Cleaning officially opened.  For the next 30 years Carmelo and the family spent many hours serving their community with love and attention to detail.  He serviced the entire area of Southwest ND, from Bowman, Scranton, Reeder ND, as well as Bison, Faith and Lemmon SD. In 2001 he retired and sold the family business to Joel.

As hardworking of a man as Carmelo was, he still found plenty of time to entertain & dine with friends, visit family in Dickinson, travel, golf and cook his spaghetti & meatballs for community fundraisers. Spending time with his grandchildren & great grandchildren and sending cards for all occasions to his loved ones were some of his favorite pastimes.  He loved the community of Hettinger, donating his time and services whenever possible.  His devotion to the Holy Trinity catholic Church was endless, donating his services for anything they needed. His personality was as big as the state of ND, and left a lasting impression on all he came in contact with.  He was the embodiment of the American Dream; he came to America with nothing and built an incredible life for himself and his family. What a legend!!!!!!

Rest well legend, you've earned it.

Keeping Carmelo in their fondest memories is his three sons, Michael Bonomo of Colorado Springs, CO, Joel Bonomo of Hettinger, ND, and Geno (Kim) Bonomo of North Platte, NE; his sister Angelina Bonomo of Rome, Italy, and Nick (Janice) Bonomo of Corvallis, Oregon; five grandchildren, Shaun Bonomo, Melissa, Derek & Mercedes Bonomo, & Isabella Bonomo; three great grandchildren, Esmaye Killough, Awinda & Malaki Oliech; and many Nieces & Nephews.

He was preceded in death by his Father & Mother Michael and Rosaria Bonomo; wife, JoAnn Bonomo; brothers, Giuseppe (Pipinno) & Rosario Bonomo.