Muriel Hons and John Hons, of advertising fame
Muriel L. Hons, 73, and her husband, John A. Hons, 71, of Wallingford, respected figures in the advertising industry, died Monday, Feb. 22, within seven hours of each other.
Muriel L. Hons, 73, and her husband, John A. Hons, 71, of Wallingford, respected figures in the advertising industry, died Monday, Feb. 22, within seven hours of each other.
Mrs. Hons died of complications from leukemia first diagnosed in 2014, Mr. Hons of complications from a cardiac arrest he had sustained on Jan. 14. Each was being treated on a different floor at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Hons was on life support and unaware of his wife's condition, but Mrs. Hons knew her husband was critically ill, said the couple's son, Charles M.
He was sad to lose both parents at the same time, but Charles Hons said he felt relieved that neither was left to mourn the other.
"If you knew my mom and dad, it's the only way it could have happened. They were so in love, they worked together, they traveled together. For them to go, it had to be together," he said.
Theirs was an attraction of opposites: He was 5-foot-11, she 5-foot-2; he was laid back, she business-oriented. They thrived as a couple, staying active with shared interests, especially hiking and biking.
"When my mother would get upset about things, my father would calm her down," their son said.
Mrs. Hons was best known as head of the Wallingford-based Muriel Hons Media Consultants, Inc. Her husband was the advertising firm's vice president, tending to the fiscal side of the business.
Born in New York City, Mrs. Hons was the daughter of Elias Berschling and Esther Weisenfeld Berschling.
She studied at C.W. Post College and worked as a bookkeeper and in advertising in New York. While there, she met Mr. Hons, and moved to Pennsylvania to be with him. The two were married for 47 years.
She joined the local office of VanSant Dugdale, a Baltimore-based advertising agency, as marketing director. At the same time, she started her own agency, first known as J.H. Advertising and later as Muriel Hons Media Consultants. Over a 30-year career, she handled clients nationwide and abroad, including the armed forces, cellphone providers, and financial service companies.
In recent years, she worked for Aloysius Butler & Clark Associates, Inc. in Wilmington while continuing to run her own agency.
Mr. Hons was born in Sabinal, Tex., to Marshall C. and Mary F. Garrett Hons. He graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree in journalism and advertising. He was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity.
He moved to New York City to join the advertising staff of the Wall Street Journal, and later was transferred to the newspaper's Pennsylvania office.
After leaving the Journal, he worked as advertising manager at Penn Federal Savings Bank, and then for the Camera Shop Inc. He parlayed a love of photography into a 20-year business called John Hons Photography.
Mr. Hons volunteered for the Boy Scouts of America for 23 years, as assistant scoutmaster of Troop 277, as an official in charge of reports from area leaders, and as a trainer for scout leaders in Chichester, Chester Upland, Garnet Valley, Penn-Delco, Rose Tree-Media, and Wallingford-Swarthmore School Districts. He also volunteered as an EMT and ambulance driver, working from the Media fire house.
In leisure time, he enjoyed astronomy, solving crossword puzzles, reading, and target shooting.
Mrs. Hons' 23 years of volunteer work with the Boy Scouts paralleled her husband's. She was committee chairwoman of Cub Scout Pack 145, and later a head trainer for leaders in the same area as her husband.
She was a joyful woman who loved gardening, reading, traveling, cooking and baking bread, cakes, and cookies, her son said.
"Come the holidays, she made a dozen kinds of cookies. She made a gingerbread tree with almond slivers forming the branches," her son said.
One of her proudest accomplishments was mastering martial arts at a high level. She became a 5th-degree black belt in Ryukyu Kempo karate and earned two certifications in the Filipino art of fighting sticks.
Besides their son, Mr. and Mr. Hons are survived by her brother. A daughter, Hillary L., died in 1995.
A visitation from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, at the DellaVecchia, Reilly, Smith & Boyd Funeral Home, 410 N. Church St., West Chester, will be followed by a 1:45 p.m. burial service at Philadelphia Memorial Park, Frazer.
Donations may be made to the Boy Scouts of America Cradle of Liberty Council, 1485 Valley Forge Rd., Wayne, Pa. 19087, or the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 2221 Chestnut St., Philadelphia 19103.
610-313-8102