Deborah A. (Isett) Bonanno

On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at 6:11 PM heaven gained a beautiful angel, Deborah Ann (Isett) Bonanno. She left this world in the company of her closest loved ones. She was a true warrior, fighting cancer for over three years, and demonstrating immense strength and determination as she wanted nothing more than time with her beloved family and friends. 

Debbie was born and raised in Shillington, Pennsylvania, where she lived most of her life. She was a graduate of Governor Mifflin, Class of 1964, a true dedicated Mustang until the very end, and very proud of her infamous ‘64 classmates. After high school, Debbie attended Kutztown University and then went to work for Western Electric and Talbotts, until delivering her daughter in 1974. She helped her husband Joe run his Motor Dispatch business while enjoying her time as a dedicated mother. Debbie returned to some part-time fun serving at River Edge as well as full time employment with her Governor Mifflin alma mater once her daughter was older, and retired around 2000 to again jump into full time care-taking for her granddaughter in 2001.  Debbie is survived by husband Joseph Bonanno, daughter Kristi Jo Bonanno, Granddaughter Victoria Catherine Leffler, and Daniel DeCarlo who she loved as a son.  In addition, sister May Dziamba, her nephews Peter Ehrnfeldt and Kenneth Killian, and nieces Toni Dziamba and Sandra Romich. Leaving this world before her were her beloved father and mother Bernard Chester Isett and Catherine Victoria (Moyer) Isett, brother Kenneth Killian, sister June Ehrnfeldt, and nephew Michael Killian.

If you knew Debbie, then you know her family and close friends were her priority and her world. Material possessions held no value compared to the precious time spent with those most dear.  She always made her family a priority. We all have a purpose that makes us who we are, and Debbie found her calling taking care of others. She jumped into being a full-time mom when her daughter was born. She and Joe never missed a single school or dance event for their daughter.  They were the parents that attended everything. Every friend who grew up with Kristi knew the Bonanno’s, and they knew they too could also count on Debbie and Joe as the smiling faces in the crowds at Football Games, Basketball Games, dance recitals, and any other Mifflin (and later Shippensburg) event. The Bonanno home was a safe place for Kristi’s friends, where everyone felt comfortable, and Debbie loved the laughter and conversations of the gang. This commitment didn’t change when their granddaughter was born, and soon all of Victoria’s friends knew Grammy and Papa Joe as their extended family, as well.  Everyone in Debbie’s life knew they were always loved and supported, a mother and grandmother who served as the loudest cheerleader and fiercest protector. In later years, Debbie continued this family commitment to become full-time caretaker of her mother, father and sister in their final days. Then, for the first time focusing on herself, Debbie found her love of travel with her family and friends, walking the Wyomissing Trail, exercising, dinners with the Sunday and Monday night gangs, and dancing at the YR Club.  She was an excellent dancer, singer, and artist.  She often spoke of the days going out as a young woman, and how she was could do the Push the best, and she did! On Saturday afternoons you would catch her playing music in the house and singing and dancing. Debbie was beautiful, both in her looks and in her soul.  She never looked her age, and through the pain and battles in the end, she was still radiant. Reminiscing was a favorite conversation, and many have heard the stories of her childhood, of her father fixing the neighborhood boys’ cars and working in the shop, of her mother taking in friends who needed support, of her summers at the bungalow with siblings and cousins, times running around Shillington where much of her Isett family lived and the Palm family would visit, her Cushman Scooter and Austin-Healey, of all of the animals her mother raised, and of course boasting about her daughter and granddaughter.  She was blessed to have the same group of best friends since elementary school, a testament of the commitment of their love and camaraderie, and the fun stories she would tell.  And she loved her crew in adulthood who she met weekly for dinners at Spartaco’s and DeCarlo’s. Finally, she was blessed for her friends who literally became family at the McGlinn Cancer Center, and the nurses and staff on floor C1 of the Reading Hospital.  There is a core theme of Debbie Bonanno and her life, and it is one of deep love, devotion, kindness, and fierce dedication for those who encountered her, as her world was her family and friends. And if you were a friend of Debbie’s, you knew you were also family.

Honoring Debbie’s wishes, she did not want a formal service. The best way to honor her would be to support two things she passionately loved. The Governor Mifflin Education Foundation, 10 S. Waverly St., Shillington, PA 19607 (Please note “In Honor of Debbie Bonanno”) which supports Mifflin students in need, or the Padre Pio Foundation, 111 Barto Rd., Barto, PA 19504 (Please note “In Honor of Debbie Bonanno”) for whom she had immense faith.

The Klee Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc., Shillington is assisting the Bonanno family. www.kleefuneralhome.com

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