Walter Moses Bonn, Jr., 88, of West Hartford passed away on Tuesday, September 27th, surrounded at home by his loving family following a brief and courageous battle with cancer. Walter was born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh on December 25, 1927. He was the son of the late Walter Moses Bonn and Hebe (Dryfoos) Bonn. Walter grew up in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh and graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in 1944. He was very proud of his achievement of earning the rank of Eagle Scout while involved with the Boy Scouts in Pittsburgh. After completing a year at the University of Pittsburgh, he left college to assist in running the family business, the M. Bonn Company. The M. Bonn Company was a wholesale jewelry business started by his grandfather, Moses Bonn, based in Pittsburgh. He was drafted into the Army in 1951 during the Korean War and served for two years stationed at US EUCOM Group Headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany earning the rank of Corporal as a cryptography specialist doing code breaking work. He received the Army of Occupation Medal for his tour of duty in Germany. He returned to the University of Pittsburgh in 1953 and graduated with a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering in 1956. After his graduation, he was accepted into the General Electric multi-year manufacturing management training program. After job assignments in Allentown, Pennsylvania and Cincinnati, Ohio, Walter spent many years with G.E. Aviation in its jet engine manufacturing division in Lynn, Massachusetts and reverse commuted from his apartment on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. He moved to the Hartford area in the 1960’s to assume responsibility for manufacturing operations for Aerospace Metals, Inc., formerly the Suisman and Blumenthal Company. Walter was a Senior Vice President of Operations for the company when he retired in December 1992. He was very proud of his position and retirement involvement with CONNTap (Connecticut Technical Assistance Program) over several years – a program funded by the State of Connecticut to provide free engineering consulting services to small and midsize businesses with a focus on improving manufacturing operations to improve environmental processes. CONNTap utilized experienced engineers who had retired from career positions with large companies as its part-time consultants. Walter was an avid lifetime skier – he skied well into his eighties. His ski house near Stratton Mountain in Vermont hosted many friends and family who shared the slopes. He loved world travel and trips to the Tetons and Wyoming for hiking and horseback riding. He also loved his summers on Nantucket with his wife and daughter. He was a kind, gentle man with a true interest in others and always held a strong belief in doing what is right in this world. He brought great insight, perspective, integrity, and heart to all his relationships and accomplishments. Walter is survived by his loving wife, R. Kelley Bonn – their 44th wedding anniversary is this September 30th; his adoring daughter, Lara Nelle Bonn, and her husband, Matthew Tristram Socks of Burlington, Vermont; and his sisters, Jean B. Vogel of Boca Raton, FL and West Hartford, and Mary B. Roth of Lincolnwood, IL. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, October 6th, in the Chapel of the Weinstein Mortuary, 640 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, CT with Rabbi Michael Pincus officiating. The family will receive relatives and friends immediately following the service until 2:30 PM at the Hartford Golf Club, 134 Norwood Road, West Hartford, CT 06117. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Sierra Club, 2101 Webster Street, Suite 1300, Oakland, CA 94612 http://www.sierraclub.org/; St. Labre Indian School, Ashland, MT 59004-1001 http://www.stlabre.org/; or Colby College, 4000 Mayflower Hill, Waterville, ME 04901 https://www.colby.edu/. For further information, directions, or to sign the guest book for Walter, please visit online at www.weinsteinmortuary.com/funerals.cfm