Reba McEntire is remembering Joe Bonsall for his infectious smile.
One day after The Oak Ridge Boys member’s death on Tuesday, July 9, McEntire paid tribute to Bonsall with a sweet post on X.
“Joe, you were a terrific entertainer, singer, and a wonderful friend! I’ll sure miss your smiling face and your bubbly personality,” she wrote alongside a smiling photo with Bonsall.
She continued, “I can’t wait to see you again. Love, Reba”
Per a press release, Bonsall died from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at age 76.
A funeral will not be held for him per his request, but donations can be made to The ALS Association or to the Vanderbilt Medical Center ALS and Neuroscience Research Center.
On Tuesday, fellow country singer Blake Shelton — who collaborated with The Oak Ridge Boys in 2016 — also paid tribute to Bonsall on X.
“I’m heartbroken to hear of my friend Joe Bonsalls passing. I’ve NEVER seen Joe when he wasn’t smiling and completely full of life. He absolutely loved singing like no one I ever met,” he wrote. “My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his @oakridgeboys brothers. We all lost a special person today.”
In January, Bonsall announced his retirement from touring with The Oak Ridge Boys. At the time, he told PEOPLE he was taking a step back to prioritize his health amid a years-long battle, though he kept his exact diagnosis private at the time.
“Many of you know I have been battling a slow onset (over four years now) of a neuromuscular disorder. I am now to a point that walking is impossible so I have basically retired from the road,” he said. “It has just gotten too difficult. It has been a great 50 years and I am thankful to all the Oak Ridge Boys band crew and staff for the constant love and support shown to me through it all.”
The musician added, “I will never forget and for those of you who have been constantly holding me up in prayer I thank you and ask for you to keep on praying.”
Meanwhile, in September, The Oak Ridge Boys announced a celebratory farewell tour to commemorate their 50th anniversary.
“We are doing a farewell tour because we owe it to our fans to say goodbye,” William Lee Golden said in a press release. “They have always been there for us through the good times and the bad. I will always be thankful to every person who came out to a show, bought a T-shirt, played our music, and overall, loved us enough to spend their hard-earned money whenever they could. This tour is for you!”
At the time, Bonsall told PEOPLE, “You could have never convinced that 25-year-old Joe Bonsall in 1973 that in 50 years the four of us would still be singing together and still loving every second of it.”
“Our mantra has always been LET’S SING… it still is!” he concluded. “We have had our share of challenges over all these decades, but we have always persevered as men who have each always cared about doing things right and God has blessed us for it.”
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Source: Tampa Bay Times
