Dzidra was my piano teacher in Coldwater for 9 years. On my ninth birthday, my mother gave me an unusual gift - piano lessons with Dzidra Bonfiglio! When I was that age, we called her "Ms. Dzidra". She remained my main piano teacher until I went on to study music at U of M. As a kid she could be stern at times, but as I got older I became aware of her great love of music and of the piano. It was obvious.

Dzidra's dedication to her students was legendary and in that respect she was definitely "old school". She was not only a good teacher, but a mentor as well. She knew there was more to becoming a musician than just learning to play an instrument. Dzidra knew how to instill a love of music in others. She spent countless hours helping me and many other of her students prepare audition tapes, preparing for competitions and later counseling us on career and education decisions. I am very grateful to her for this. Her annual recitals at Tibbits Opera House gave me and all of her students an opportunity for real experience on stage and offered Coldwater audiences a rare treat. She organized all of these herself, with the proceeds going to the Humane Society.

In high school and later, I also remember spending time at Joe and Dzidra's home on the lake and enjoying the waterfront. We spent many hours together talking about classical music, composers and famous pianists. Wilhelm Kempff was her favorite and came up frequently. Dzidra even admitted a fondness for Rick Wakeman, keyboardist for Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). I remember listening to a recording of his piano concerto for the first time at her house on the lake.

Dzidra's most important music studies in Europe were with Wilhelm Kempff and his brother Georg after the war in Erlangen, Germany. She talked about this often with me. She was still in contact by letters with her colleagues there decades after coming to the US. Through her connections there she was able to help me study piano at a music conservatory in Germany. Such was her dedication to her students.

I will never forget Dzidra and all she did for her students. She gave me a solid musical foundation on which later I could build. She had a great sense of humor, too, and how I remember the teasing that went on between Dzidra and her first husband Joe Bonfiglio! While I cannot attend Dzidra's funeral, I send out peace and a warm greeting to all her family members, former students, and friends.

Wes Rosenberg

I forgot to mention Barb (Bonfiglio) Arnold as well!

Dzidra's many nieces and nephews of her Bonfiglio family, Tony(Fran), Dan (Diana), Kathy(Bonfiglio) and Tom Scheid, Pat (Mike) Eber, will miss her dearly. We fondly remember all the fun times on Dons Drive on the lake, and meeting her piano students, events at Tibbits Theater to name a few. Were are sending you home with hugs and love Aunt Dzidra. Kathy and all.