Emma Bonica, Wife Of UW Doctor

In the 1980s, Emma Bonica was bestowed the title of baroness by Prince Cesare D'Altavilla of Sicily and Naples.

An elegant Italian-American woman who spoke Italian and Venetian, Sicilian and Neapolitan dialects, Mrs. Bonica thought the title was nice. But being a down-to-earth type, Mrs. Bonica enjoyed the other titles of her life more: wife, mother, grandmother and friend.

The daughter of Venetian immigrants, Mrs. Bonica grew up so poor that she stuffed her shoes with cardboard.

But she never complained. Instead, she felt blessed by the good fortune of her family, friends and marriage to John Bonica, a chairman of the University of Washington's anesthesiology department and the founder of the school's pain-research center, said Mrs. Bonica's daughter, Angela DeSimone.

"She was an exceptional person," DeSimone said. "She was very positive and very happy. She thought she had a great life."

Mrs. Bonica died July 8 in Seattle. She was 78.

Her husband pioneered anesthesiology and pain research at the university and at Tacoma General Hospital. Mrs. Bonica played a major role in his work by entertaining and keeping up the social commitments, DeSimone said.

Her contribution to the School of Medicine was so great that when her husband retired, the school named a chair for anesthesiology and pain research in honor of him and her.

"When my father retired, someone said, `John's department will never be the same,' " DeSimone said. "And someone else said, `Oh, you mean Emma's department?' Mom was always a part of everything he did."

Mrs. Bonica was especially known for her wit, intelligence and warmth. When she went in the hospital after a heart attack, it was several days after her husband had been released from the same hospital. The doctor who treated him introduced himself in a serious, condescending tone of voice, DeSimone said.

"Now, Mrs. Bonica, do you re-mem-ber me? I'm the doctor who treated your husband," he said.

Mrs. Bonica smiled and said, "Of course I remember you. You treated my husband so well that I thought I would give it a try."

Born Nov 24, 1915, in New Haven, Conn., Mrs. Bonica met her husband in Brooklyn. She followed him to Fort Lewis when he was stationed at Madigan Army Hospital during World War II.

Although she left her Italian East Coast community, she never lost her roots. She was well-known for her homemade pasta and traditional Venetian Christmas Eve feasts, in which she would cook octopus, squid and a dazzling array of fish.

She is survived by her husband, Dr. John Bonica; daughters, Angela DeSimone of Mercer Island, and Charlotte Bonica and Linda Bonica of New York City; son, John Bonica of Winthrop; sister, Argentina Carboni of Rome; grandchildren, Adrianna and Gianmarco DeSimone, and Anne and William Bonica; and nephew, Anthony Mazziottie of Connecticut.

A funeral mass was held Wednesday at St. Monica's Catholic Church on Mercer Island. Remembrances can be made to the Emma Bonica Endowed Chair at the UW School of Medicine, 1325 Fourth Ave., No. 2000, Seattle, WA 98101.