History

The history of Bonney-Watson began in 1861, when Oliver C. Shorey and his wife, Mary Emeline Bonney moved to Seattle. At that time there were only 150 residents in Seattle.

Mr. Shorey was a cabinet maker and along with Mr. A. P. DeLin were commissioned to carve the four stately columns which were to be part of the first University of Washington building. When the university moved to the site of its present campus, only the columns of the original buildings were preserved and moved to the new location, where they stand today.

They continued running their cabinet shop and furniture store, In 1868, the two cabinet-makers, in a move not unusual for those times, added casket-making to their list of services. Thus began, nearly 140 years ago, the company we know today as Bonney-Watson, one of Seattle's oldest firms. It is the second oldest continuing business in Seattle, behind only the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper, and one of the oldest funeral homes in Washington State.

As Seattle's population grew, so did the number of deaths. In 1881, L.W. Bonney, a brother-in-law, joined the firm as a partner. The Shorey-Bonney name survived until 1889, the year of the Great Seattle Fire, which started in an adjacent building and destroyed their Third Avenue and Columbia Street establishment, along with most of "downtown" Seattle.

After the fire, Shorey--who served as county treasurer from 1864 to 1872, helped organize the city's library and served on its school board--retired to other pursuits and sold his company shares to G.M. Stewart. Bonney and Stewart rebuilt with brick at Third Avenue and Columbia Street site (where the Seattle Chamber of Commerce building now stands), and moved into their new facilities in 1893.

Ten years later, the sexton of the Lake View Cemetery, Harry W. Watson, bought out Stewart and for the first time the Bonney-Watson sign went up on the building. And that's the name that has survived to this day.

In 1906, the company occupied the old Mackintosh mansion where the Seattle Tower stands today. In 1912, Bonney-Watson moved to larger facilities at Broadway avenue and East Olive, where it was to remain for a half century. This building eventually was sold to Seattle Community College in 1962, and Bonney-Watson moved up Broadway to Howell Street, where it operates today.

Bonney-Watson has grown over the years to include six funeral homes and a cemetery (the original Bonney-Watson on Capitol Hill, Washington Memorial Park and Mortuary in SeaTac, Bonney-Watson Parker Chapel in Burien, Bonney-Watson in Federal Way, Bonney-Watson Eastside Arrangement Center in Bellevue, and Wiggen and Sons Funeral Home in Ballard). The company currently has a staff of over 70 individuals dedicated to providing every family we serve with exemplary customer satisfaction, including thirty-five funeral service professionals.

For over a century, Bonney-Watson has demonstrated a commitment to providing meaningful experiences and exceptional care to our communities. While Bonney-Watson is proud to be one of the pioneering businesses of the Northwest, supporting the community and those who serve within it, it is our singular focus on always exceeding our customers’ expectations that distinguish us from other funeral providers in the Northwest.