Bonnie Donady

Bonnie Donady, 81, of Middletown, beloved wife of John James Donady and mother of Janae Donady, died surrounded by family on Monday February 20, 2023 at her home. She was under the supportive care of Home Hospice of Middlesex Hospital.

Bonnie was born in Brooklyn, NY, daughter of the late Martin and Jessica (Apter) Stern. She learned the values of love, family, character, education and hard work. These qualities led to careers in teaching, promoting awareness and methods to overcome Math Anxiety and a private practice in Marriage and Family Therapy.

She was an A student at all levels. She loved to study and to learn. Her education included a BA from Hunter College (political sci), an MA from University of Iowa (psych/ed), and certification in Gestalt Therapy from Hartford Family Institute (HFI). She had a favorite teacher in elementary school who taught her that you can do anything you put your mind to. The teacher taught them to say the alphabet backwards. You break it into small sections: ZYX, WVUT and so on. When you are in the Emergency Room they ask you questions like “do you know what day it is? Do you know who the president is?” When there was a question Bonnie didn’t know she would undoubtedly say “I can say the alphabet backwards in less than 10 seconds”. She was an excellent teacher and conveyed her love of knowledge, especially related to history and civics. She taught in East Norwich, NY, Clear Creek, IA, and

Monrovia CA.

Bonnie’s counseling experience began at the Univ. of Iowa Pediatric Psychiatry clinic. A few years later she was appointed to the Math Anxiety Clinic at Wesleyan University, CT. With Sheila Tobias and Susan Auslander, they traveled nationwide, promoting awareness of Math Anxiety and methods to deal with it. Doing the counseling for the anxiety part of math anxiety led to her wanting to get trained in Gestalt therapy. She became licensed in Marriage and Family Therapy and carried on a private practice in Middletown CT.

Bonnie loved Spring vacations to Caribbean islands, holidays with extended family and stationary bird watching. As her mobility became more restricted she enjoyed watching some sports, music of all kinds, especially pop from the ‘60s and ‘70s, and Janae’s cats.

Funeral arrangements have been carried out by Biega’s. There will not be any public events at this time. There will be a celebration of Bonnie’s life in the Spring, which will be by invitation only. Please leave any thoughts or memories at www.beigafuneralhome. com