Obituary of Murry Bono

Mariano G. “Murry” Bono, retired owner of Murry’s Coffee Shop, passed away at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center, on Wednesday afternoon, March 8, 2006. He was 67 years old and a resident of Burlington for 43 years. Murry was born in Boston. He was the son of the late Vincenzo & Rita Mary Bono. He was raised and educated in the North End of Boston. Murry’s life was dedicated to his business and providing a home for his wife and two daughters. He owned his own coffee shop in City Hall in Boston called Murry’s Coffee Shop. He had just retired in June of 2005. When he retired the Boston Globe published an article about Murry in the June 17, 2005 issue. Below are some excerpts of the Globe article. “For more than three decades, Boston’s city employees lined up for Murry Bono’s famous chicken cutlet sandwich at his humble City Hall Lunch.... But yesterday, the refrigerator was empty. The grill was cold. The coffee machine was silent. Bono, who is fighting cancer, closed his beloved cafeteria and said goodbye to City Hall after 34 years.... The 67-year-old restaurateur plans to spend more time with his family. “I’m going to enjoy my grandkids and sit by the pool,” Bono said.... More than 100 well-wishers streamed into the cafeteria to say farewell to the chef who has served City Hall multitudes, usually with a joke and a friendly wink.... City Hall employees sat in the café, decorated with balloons, eating retirement cake, sipping soda, and joking with the retiree..... “Murry’s been here longer than this building” said Carla Payne, who works in the Human Resources Department and has known Bono for 28 years. Friends scribbled messages on a poster board; “Murry – what am I going to do on my break now?” and “thanks for keeping me well-fed and happy." When Bono started whipping up his famous meatball subs at the cafeteria, Kevin White was the mayor and City Hall had recently been constructed. Throughout the years, the eighth-floor eatery maintained its old-fashioned touch of small tables placed closely together and manual cash register with pop-up buttons. Bono personally cooked everything from the meatballs to the soup. Bono never seemed to gain weight, despite a menu that included his homemade meat loaf and roast beef specialties. Surrounded by his wife and family, he hugged former customers, played with their children, and said his goodbyes. Customers said it was his humor and friendliness that kept bringing them back to his eatery. Mayor Thomas M. Menino said Bono would open his shop during the harshest blizzards and always served hot food for people working late into the evening. “Murry has been a fixture in City Hall for the last three decades,” Menino said. “When you walk in, he has a smile on his face. He’s one of the most pleasant individuals. We’re going to miss him.” When another cafeteria opened in the building two years ago, it took business away from Bono’s City Hall Luncheon, but some customers stayed loyal to Bono. “I always patronized Murry’s,” said Councilor at Large Maura A. Hennigan, a mayoral candidate, “He just had that special touch”. “Murry enjoyed being here,” said Bono’s wife Angelina. “It was an honor for him. It was like a family here.” Murry is the beloved husband of 46 years of Angelina M (Cirignano). He is the loving father of Lisa & her husband Guy Milinazzo and Marianne & her husband Peter Russo all of Burlington. He is the brother of Raymond Bono & his wife Dina of Malden, Michael Bono & Joe Alexander of Boston, Vincent Bono & his wife Dolores of Revere, and the late Ralph Bono. He is the proud grandfather of Angela & Peter Milinazzo and Amanda, Peter & Kathryn Russo all of Burlington. He is the brother-in-law of Frank Cirignano, Joanne Fabiano both of Boston, Aurora Tarantino of Stoneham, Iris Solimini of Wakefield, and the late Joseph Cirignano, Frank Solimini and Florio Tarantino. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Saturday, March 11 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn St., Burlington at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Friday 4-8:30 p.m. Interment in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington. Memorials in Murry’s name may be made to Lahey Clinic Philanthropy Dept., 41 Mall Rd., Burlington, MA 01805. For directions & obituary see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net & www.saintmargaretschurch.net Retired owner of Murry’s Coffee Shop, City Hall, Boston. A Message from Marianne Lisa and I spent our whole lives realizing how devasting this day would be. Our father lost his father young and he had such a great love for his Dad and his whole family. He told us endless stories of our Grandfather and showed such emotion when talking about the loss, that we just knew it had to be such a horrible feeling. Now we know. We know because we have that same, deep love for him. He was always honest with us. He let us see his flaws and weaknesses. He allowed us to have flaws and weaknesses too. If we ever did anything wrong, we never were afraid to go to him. He never yelled at us or judged us. He always had the same reaction. "Don't worry about it." Then he would think of ways to help us to correct what went wrong. The things Lisa and I did bad weren't even close to some of the things he did. So he usually had a solution. If not, he would tell us to go see our mother. That she would get all nervous at first, but she'd help. He was right. My father opened his heart up to us and especially his Grandchildren, the loves of his life. And at times we drove him crazy. I can't tell you how many times I called him when he was on his way home from work and said "Dad, where are you?" Right away he'd say, "What do you need?" Even if he was in his own driveway, he'd turn around and go get what I needed. Sometimes it was something important like medicine for the kids. Sometimes it was something so silly, like I desired a candy bar. He never said no to us ever. He drove Lisa to work in Boston for 17 years. She works two long days and he would wait until after 8:00 at night to take her home. We teased him and told him he was the MBTA. The Murry Bono Transit Authority. But even if in between he had to go back to Burlington to go the bathroom (he wouldn't go anywhere but home) he always went back for her. They had more laughs and fights in the car driving. After one car ride home Lisa called me up and said "Dad said I was the apple of his eye." So I called him up laughing and said "Oh, I heard Lisa's the apple of your eye." He said, "Yeah, my wrotten eye." Then he laughed and said, "You know, I have two eyes." My Dad was the hardest working person you'd ever meet and sometimes he would have a lot of money in his pocket and he would give it to you if you needed it. Sometimes he had two nickels in his pocket, and he would still give it to you if you needed it. He didn't care about money like that. He was very generous. He gave us everything we could ever want or need. He gave us all of him. Sometimes my Dad was so tough (how many times did you hear him say, "I'll knock him out"), and then other times he was so vulnerable. I remember him stopping over one Saturday morning, like he always did, right before he started to get real sick. Things weren't going great for him and he was down. We talked for a long time and as he left my house, I hugged him and told him, "I just want to tell you that you may not have handed me the cash to buy my house or my cars, but I have everything I have because of you. Because with you behind me my whole life, I have had the courage to move forward and take chances. I always know you'll have my back and that means more than all the money in the world." He teared up and I told him what I told him on the day he died. "Thank you, Thank you so much Dad." My mother, my sister, our husbands and our children could never thank Papa enough for all the stories. All the laughter. All the silliness. All the love. The deep love. Our family has no regrets. He told us everyday that he loved us. We told him back everyday that we loved him. Even through our most difficult times, this is how it was with him. We are so full of him, we will never, ever be empty. So once again, thank you, Papa. Thank you for everything.