GREGORY BONOMO

Gregory Ralph Bonomo was born on Dec. 22, 1938, in Los Angeles, California, to Rose and Ralph Bonomo. When his father was drafted in 1941, it necessitated the family to move to New York to be closer to relatives. Gregory lost his mother, Rose, at the young age of eleven. Soon thereafter, Ralph remarried his mother's younger sister Ann, and they had two daughters: Rosanne and Rosemary. Gregory went to boarding school at St. Anne's for several years of elementary school and all of high school. He was an undergraduate student at Manhattan College, where he spent his time studying and socializing in the Big City. He attended St. Louis University Medical School for his graduate degree. Then, after receiving his degree, Gregor attended Columbia University, where he studied pediatric and adult neurology. His internship and residency were both at Mass General in Boston, Massachusetts.

 He served in the Air Force as a Captain in Clovis, New Mexico, for several years in the late 1960s. He married Dellamarie Gibbons in 1964, and they adopted three wonderful children: Laura, Christopher, and Michael. After their divorce in 1974, Gregory then met and married Jana Ziakova, who has a daughter named Jennifer. Jana and Gregor’s marriage lasted for nearly fifty years. Gregor moved to California in 1972 and spent the majority of his life there, ultimately settling in the quiet seaside community of Belmont Shore - Long Beach, where he enjoyed walking his dogs by the seashore every day. Gregor was a lifelong learner, an avid reader and rare book collector, and could be characterized as a living ‘Cliff Clavin,’ being knowledgeable about almost any subject you could imagine, common or obscure. He loved gardening, classic cars, old school rhythm & blues, fine wines/food, anything French, Ice Hockey, and Formula One racing. He had flair and style and was known for his bow ties and his Hawaiian shirts. He had lifelong friendships. He was truly unique, and his family and friends all adored him. Life will never be the same for his loving wife, his children, his sisters, his grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and the extended family whose lives he touched so deeply.