PHILLIP R. BONAMASE, 53 Was police officer for various agencies

COITSVILLE -- There are no services or calling hours for Phillip R. Bonamase, 53, of 10 Skip Drive, who died of complications from diabetes March 4 at home.
Mr. Bonamase was born July 6, 1947, in Youngstown, a son of Joseph and Margaret Lenky Bonamase, and was a lifelong area resident.
He was an automobile mechanic for several local garages and was an assembler-welder for Republic Steel in Youngstown. He was also a law-enforcement officer for Boardman Township, Columbiana County, Youngstown Police Department and Youngstown State University Police Department. He retired because of a disability in 1985.
A 1965 graduate of East High School, he graduated from New Castle School of Trades in 1967 as a combination welder.
He also graduated from two police academies and had additional training at the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy, the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy, the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of the Army and Youngstown State University.
He was a State of Ohio Certified Police Firearms instructor, a lifetime member of National Rifle Association and a Certified Basic Firearms instructor. He was a lifetime member of Police Marksman Association and a lifetime member of the Law Enforcement Alliance of America.
Mr. Bonamase was an amateur radio operator and member of Mahoning Valley Amateur Radio Association. He was a member and control operator for the former Austintown Repeater System, a sky warn spotter for the National Weather Service, and an Amateur Civil Emergency Service Volunteer for Mahoning County Disaster Services and Emergency Management Agency.
Besides his mother, he leaves a half brother, Karl Hotz, both of Austintown.
Arrangements are by Davidson-Becker Funeral Home in Struthers.
3/14/01