Jon H. Zonderman, 67, died February 29. The irony of dying on Leap Day would have pleased him greatly. He was the husband of Laurel Shader. Born in Boston, MA and raised in the Oak Hill neighborhood of Newton, MA, he was the son of the late Louis and Irene Zonderman. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Anna Law and her husband Jake, and Jacob Zonderman; his grandson Lucas; his brothers, Alan and David Zonderman and their families; and many members of the Zonderman, Harris and Shader families, including his father-in-law, Richard Shader. He was a graduate of Newton South High School and Trinity College in Hartford, CT. He received his master’s in journalism from Columbia University, where he was awarded a Pulitzer Fellowship.
He was a writer, editor and teacher who firmly believed that punctuation saves lives, and disapproved of the Oxford comma. He was the ghost-writer for several prominent business consulting firms and aspired to advance from being the carefully worded acknowledgment (“our profound thanks to Jon Zonderman, without whom this book would never have been written”) to a “with” or an “as told to.”) His newspaper and magazine journalism appeared in national and regional publications, including The New York Times Magazine, Technology Review, Yale Alumni Magazine and The Boston Business Journal, where he served for four years in the 1980s as a contributing writer, covering the technology, biotechnology and medical industries. From 1996 to 2000 he wrote a monthly opinion column for The Bulletin, a weekly newspaper in Connecticut.
An avid educator, he taught journalism at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, communications and composition at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury and composition and other writing courses at the University of Bridgeport. He was also a member of the adjunct faculties of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Fordham University and Albertus Magnus College in New Haven.
He filled many roles as a long-time member of Temple Emanuel of Greater New Haven – he was twice President of the Board, and participated in several committees including Education, Buildings and Grounds, and Finance, among others. His involvement in the Greater New Haven community included work with Habitat for Humanity, the Jewish Community Alliance for Refugee Resettlement and the Jewish Community Relations Council.
Some of his happiest moments in recent years included seeing his kids become wonderful, productive adults, Anna’s marriage to Jake and the birth of Lucas. He was a devoted, congenital Red Sox fan and closely followed the Celtics, the Bruins and the Patriots. He read the New York Times from cover to cover each day and read both the Times and the Boston Globe on Sundays with horse racing or golf on in the background. He will be missed by his family and friends for many years to come.