Summary
Patrick J. Bonner, Beaver Island’s celebrated Irish fiddler, died October 26, 1973, at Leelanau Memorial Hospital. A rosary was held October 28 at the Bonner home; Rev. Herbert Graf officiated at the October 29 Holy Cross Church funeral, and Bonner was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery.
History and evidence
Born on Beaver Island November 7, 1882, Bonner learned and preserved Irish tunes, played an early-1700s violin whose Stradivari label was unverified, and played for island weddings and celebrations. The obituary says the University of Michigan invited him to Ann Arbor to make archive tapes of his Irish music. It also describes his friendship with Feodor Protar and his role as an unofficial custodian and guide to Protar’s home and tomb.
Limits
The newspaper is not a civil death certificate, recording catalog, instrument authentication, or cemetery register. The University archive tapes are not individually identified in the held source.
Sources
- Beaver Beacon, November 1973, “Obituaries: Patrick J. Bonner.”Reports Bonner’s October 26 death at Leelanau Memorial Hospital, October 28 rosary, October 29 Holy Cross Church funeral with Rev. Herbert Graf officiating, and Holy Cross Cemetery burial. The obituary also preserves his Irish music, Protar, and University of Michigan archive connections.