John Walter Bonomi was born Jan. 9, 1951, in Renton, and died Nov. 1, 2014, in Fairbanks, Alaska.
John Walter Bonomi
John was the oldest of three sons born to Walter Bonomi and Sandra Croppi Bonomi. Growing up on a dairy farm in Issaquah, he acquired lifelong passions for fishing, hunting, music and gardening. He loved the outdoors and especially enjoyed mushroom picking alongside his mother.
At an early age, John trained on the accordion, was schooled by renowned accordionist Stan Boreson and later played alongside notable entertainer Al Yankovic. He graduated from Issaquah High School in 1969. In the early ’70s, after attending Central Washington College in Ellensburg, he ventured north to Alaska seeking out an oil pipeline job. After finding his way to Fairbanks, he instead found work in a local restaurant and discovered how much he enjoyed entertaining audiences with his accordion music.
Later in life, John produced and recorded many of his favorite songs from past performances. Several years later, John returned to Issaquah, where he met and married Carol Moose, the mother of his son John Bonomi Jr. born in 1979. John raised his boy in Issaquah so he could experience life on the family farm and nourish in him the same love of nature he cherished.
In 2009, John met his future wife Sheryl Ann “Sheri” Olson while performing at a local senior center where she was employed. They were married the same year and moved to Fairbanks. John was extremely proud of his Italian heritage and enjoyed sharing the Bonomi family story, which spanned two continents and led to acquiring their farm on the Issaquah Hobart Road in 1908.
John was preceded in death by his father Walter Joseph Bonomi in 1982.
He is survived by his wife Sheri; son John Jr.; mother Sandra; two brothers, Angelo and Walter; nephew Dominic Bonomi; niece Regina Bonomi Teets; and many uncles, aunts and cousins.