Thomas Lane Bonn

Thomas Lane Bonn
January 14,1939-March 14, 2025
Thomas Lane Bonn, long-time resident of the Ithaca area, passed away March 14, 2025. He was
born January 14, 1939, to Fred and Teresa (Reilly) Bonn of Scranton, PA. As he grew up in
northeastern Pennsylvania, Tom worked as a batboy for the AAA Scranton Miners, served as a
choir boy for Nativity of Our Lord Church, and enjoyed summers at his family’s cottage on Lake
Ariel. He was a proud graduate of the Scranton Preparatory School – a bridge to him attending,
graduating, and becoming a lifelong fan of Notre Dame University. From South Bend, Tom
matriculated to New York University and earned his master’s in book publishing. There, he met
and fell in love with his future wife of 52 years, Ellen Murphy. Tom worked in several
publishing houses in the city before moving to the Finger Lakes, where he attended Syracuse
University and received a master’s in library science. In 1969, Tom joined SUNY Cortland as an
assistant librarian, where he worked the reference desk, founded the Media Center, chaired the
Master Plan committee, and was an inaugural member of the Moffet Pool lunchtime swim group.
He was one of the first two librarians in the SUNY system to receive the Chancellor’s Award for
Excellence. Tom authored three books on the publishing industry, “Paperback Primer: A Guide
for Collectors,” “Under Cover: An Illustrated History of the America Mass Market Paperbacks,”
and “Heavy Traffic and High Culture.”
Tom and Ellen spent 25 years in Etna as active members of the Etna Community Association and
founding organizers of the Fall Creek White Water Derby. When Tom’s children, Fred and Amy,
joined the Ithaca YMCA swim team, he served on committees, ran fundraisers, and drove around
the region to meets and practices. He joined the competitive swimming world in the 1980s,
medaling in three Master’s Empire State Games. In 1994, Tom and Ellen moved to Ithaca, where
they found a wonderful community in their Commonland neighbors. Tom retired in 2001.
Thereafter he devoted himself to world travel from Ireland to Turkey, served as a disaster
volunteer for the Red Cross (including post-9/11 and post-Katrina relief), and imparted his
enthusiasm for life, as “Papa,” to his four grandchildren: Mason, Logan, Maxwell, and
Katharine. Tom was married to his wife, Ellen, “Nana,” until her passing in 2016.
Tom was a lover of books and people, but perhaps not in that order. Books were his intellectual
companion in a lifelong desire to learn about the world, its humanity, and its history. When
asked recently how many books he had read in his lifetime, he simply replied: “Not enough.”
In 2018, Tom met and fell in love with Abby Eller. The two bonded over their shared enjoyment
of classical music, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. Abby’s presence was a
gift to Tom during the last years of his life.
Tom is predeceased by his parents and his wife, Ellen. He is survived by his partner Abby; a son,
Fred (Sara) of Trumansburg and his two sons, Mason and Logan; a daughter, Amy Bonn
(Richard Schaefer) and their children, Maxwell and Katharine, of Plattsburgh; a sister, Carol of

Hammonton, NJ; a sister-in-law, Alice, of Clinton Township, MI; many cousins, nephews, and
nieces; and special friends Josh and Annie Eller, Anne Adams and Zora Adams-Williams, Nancy
Fuhr and the Boehm, Vogel, and Fuhr families, John Suter, and Adam Nichols. In lieu of
flowers, donations can be made in Tom’s name to the Community Foundation of Tompkins
County or the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. A memorial service is planned for Saturday, July
12th at 11 AM at the North Pavilion, located in the Lower Park of Robert H. Treman State Park.
Perkins Funeral Home assisted the family.