Donald Nicholas Bonacci

Donald Nicholas Bonacci passed away peacefully to be with our Lord on January 29, 2018 at the age of 88. Don loved his family more than anything in this world and touched all who knew him with his warm spirit, gentle charm, expert problem solving skills, and ever joyful humor. Don was born on October 2, 1929 in New York City, New York to Daniel and Fay Bonacci. He was raised a couple of blocks away from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY and had fond memories of cheering on the Yankees at many baseball games. Don graduated high school in 1947 from Stuyvesant High School in New York City. He then went onto study at New York University and graduated with Bachelor degrees in Business Administration and Film Arts. He also was proud to be "the first Good Humor Man" of Long Island, NY, a position he held during his summer vacations in college. Don met the love of his life, Frances, while he worked in the Ice Skating department while in college (yes, they had that department back then!) at Macy's Fifth Avenue in NYC and she in the Millinery (look it up!) department. They got married in 1952 and began their very full life together. Don worked tirelessly for many decades first in the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lieutenant during the Korean War, and then in the Human Resources field. In addition, he also enjoyed teaching as an adjunct professor in Business for New York University and Maryknoll College in New York City. Don held multiple management positions with the United States Atomic Energy Commission, Combustion Engineering, Giant Stores, the Tandy Corporation, ORI Consulting, and Commonwealth Oil Refining Company in locations to include Fort Knox, Kentucky, Norwolk and Windsor, Connecticut, Westchester County, New York, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, and Ponce, Puerto Rico. Don rose to prominence as an expert union negotiator in the 1970's and successfully settled many labor disputes in the oil and refining industry. In 1976, Don joined Tesoro Petroleum in San Antonio as Senior Vice President of Human Resources, a position he enjoyed until retirement in 1990. Although a true New Yorker, Don considered San Antonio his home and actively served his community through numerous volunteer positions over the years to include most notably with the United Way of San Antonio, the San Antonio Figure Skating Club (US Figure Skating), and the Town of Hollywood Park. Don was an avid reader and also enjoyed boating and sailing both on the U.S. eastern seaboard and on local area lakes. He truly lived his life with no regrets and enjoyed life to the fullest. Don was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Frances Claire Bonacci. He is survived by his sister Frances Richardson of Venice, FL, and his three children: Michele ("Shelly") A. Power and husband Stephen, Daniel J. Bonacci, and Donald N. Bonacci, Jr. and wife Kelli; all of the San Antonio area. He is also survived by his beloved five grandchildren: Melanie Power Faulkner (Sterling), Nico Bonacci, Danny Bonacci, Michael Bonacci, and Trenton Leffingwell. The family wishes to express gratitude to Elzbieta McMurtrie, MD, and the teams at Accountable Aging Care Management, Franklin Park Sonterra, Sonterra Health Center, and the Cottages at Danny Kaye for their loving kindness and caring attention in making Don's most recent golden years as joyful as possible. A Graveside service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery; a memorial service and celebration of Don's life will follow beginning at 1:30 p.m. at Porter Loring Mortuary North. Memorial contributions may be made in Donald's name to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Helotes,Texas at www.olghelotes.org.