James J. Bonner, 79, educator

James J. Bonner, 79, a former teacher and principal in the Philadelphia School District, died of complications from Parkinson's disease Wednesday at St. Joseph Villa, a nursing home in Flourtown. He lived in the Andorra section of Philadelphia.

A Philadelphia School District spokesman said that Mr. Bonner began teaching at the Jenks School in September 1950, was on military leave from 1951 to 1953, and became a teacher at the Key School in September 1958. He became a principal at the Dunlap School in September 1965 and at the Belmont School in 1967, a district spokesman said.

He was also principal at the Duckrey, Dunbar and Shaw Schools, his family said.

He managed federal programs for the Philadelphia School District and was director of the elementary mathematics resources program, publishing articles about math in educational journals.

As president of the Philadelphia Schoolmen's Club, he mentored colleagues who hoped to become school principals.

A former resident of East Lansdowne, Delaware County, he was a borough councilman there and a school board member in the William Penn School District.

He grew up in Southwest Philadelphia, was a 1946 graduate of West Catholic High School, and graduated from La Salle College in 1950.

After earning a master's degree in education at the University of Pennsylvania, he earned a doctorate in education there in 1984. He also served as an officer in the Army military police.

Mr. Bonner retired in July 1991 and was a consultant for the school district for the next 10 years.

Mr. Bonner's son, James Jr., an advertising supervisor with The Inquirer, said: "Because he was an educator, he had high expectations for all his children to go to college. And they all did."

Mr. Bonner was a lifelong summer resident of Ocean City, N.J. "That's when he was happiest, down there," his son said. "He loved the ocean. He continued to body surf well into his 60s."

In addition to James Jr., Mr. Bonner is survived by his wife, Marie; sons Michael, Charles, Gregory and Daniel; and 10 grandchildren. His first wife, Bernice, and a daughter, Kathleen, preceded him in death.

A viewing was set for 9 a.m. tomorrow at St. Joseph Villa, 110 W. Wissahickon Ave., Flourtown, to be followed by a Mass of Christian Burial there at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Marple Township, Delaware County.