Walter Bernard Boninger

March 26, 2018, 2:50 pm 0 Edit

BONINGER: Walter Bernard Boninger died on March 25, 2018. Walter was born in Hamburg, Germany on June 21, 1928. He was raised as an only child of two loving parents in an Orthodox Jewish home. In the blink of an eye, literally, disaster struck as World War II reared its horrific head … and he and his parents were fleeing Europe on a ship hit by a German mine … and instantaneously Walter was an orphan at the age of 11. He was brought to the States and raised in New York by Herta and Julius Feher (relatives without children of their own) and Herta became a remarkable person in Walter’s life! He spent summers on the Pattington’s farm in upstate New York, went off on a western swing going to school at UCLA, then back eastward to Cleveland for a degree in social work, followed by many years working for the Cleveland Society for the Blind, and serving as cantor for Mayfield Hillcrest Synagogue. And it was in Cleveland that he met his first wife, Janine Carter, and together they had three boys: Ron, Mike and David. Walter was divorced in 1977 and then he had a short marriage to Nancy and then married Lonnie, his wife and life partner for many years. Walter and Lonnie had a good life together, including years in Butler, Pa., with Walter serving as the spiritual leader of Butler’s one and only Jewish congregation. Later they moved to Pittsburgh and had many years together in Pittsburgh building and enjoying their Temple Sinai community. And their other favorite place to visit in Pittsburgh, you ask? The Zoo! They just loved the Zoo, especially the elephants. Walter is survived by his children, Ron (Patty), Mike (Judy), David (Faith) and his grandchildren, Joe, Eli, Nathan, Jason (Jessica), Alisa and Talia. Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, at Temple Sinai at 10 a.m. Interment held privately. Memorial donations may be made to Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or UPMC Senior Communities Benevolent Care Fund, 200 Lothrop St., Forbes Tower, Ste. 10072, Pittsburgh 15213.