Remembering Shirley Bonnem - A Trailblazing Professional

The Philadelphia public relations community lost a long-time and beloved member of its family last week. Shirley Bonnem died peacefully last Thursday morning in her center city home. She was 86. Shirley was a member of the Philadelphia Public Reltions Association for over 50 years and was inducted into the PPRA Hall of Fame in 1984. A former Vice President of Public Relations and Administration at Children's Hospital 0f Philadelphia (CHOP), Shirley was associated with the hospital for more than three decades, not only in public relations, but also in government relations, marketing, and development. She was also a pioneer in the field of hospital public relations in Philadelphia and a preeminent communicator and goodwill ambassador for CHOP. She lectured all over the world, was widely published and served as an adjunct professor at Temple University. She is survived by her sons, Eric and Stephen, and her grandson, Andrei. Shirley was a grand lady: a treasured friend, wise mentor, trusted colleague and proud Philadelphian -- gracious, kind, helpful and fully in the world and in her profession to the end. A memorial service in the Quaker tradition will be held at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 19 S. 22nd Street, on Friday, May 10 at 1pm. Friends will be invited to speak of their memories of Shirley. In lieu of flowers, at Shirley's request, donations should be made to The College of Physicians ofPhiladelphia or The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.