Leidy, was murdered in West Reading in July 2003, just days before she planned to begin her career as a registered nurse at Reading Hospital.
When Leidy was a young girl, her nickname was Ladybug.
Leidy was very outgoing and touched many lives in her short time with us on earth. Her memory will not soon be forgotten.
Today her family works towards helping other victims of crime.
The Leidy Bonanno Memorial Scholarship Fund, has been founded by Leidy's parents in her memory at the Reading Hospital School of Nursing.
They have also refurbished a waiting room, subsequently named Leidy's Room, at the partnership's Germantown office of The Philadelphia Anti-Violence.
Leidy Sheeder Bonanno
Adopting Leidy at age 4, Kathy described her daughter as "a delightful, outgoing child with a huge smile, a big hugger and kisser."
"She was only an average student," Kathy said, "but she was always interested in the medical profession and had a high tolerance for seeing surgery.
"She had the nature to be a nurse - very compassionate, but self-possessed, a strong sense of self."
Leidy's killer was sentenced to life in prison without parole
Article dated 6/12/2009
Woman wins publisher's prize for poetry dealing with aftermath of daughter's murder in West Reading
After daughter's murder, Kathy Sheeder Bonanno turns to poetry to deal with grief and pain, Article dated 7/5/2009
"Tea Time" Losing your daughter, losing your daughter to murder, requires adjustment. Like, say, you are sipping tea and someone reaches over and fantastically yanks your heart from your chest and it drops, pumping, onto the table and there it is, there is the matter, your whole heart, that brilliant engine, that tuber, vulgar, purple, red and you simply don't die, you see; you blanch and your brain beats on and then, and then, invariably, you reach down to straighten a spoon.
Slamming Open The Door written by Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno
Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno is a contributing editor of The American Poetry Review and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize for two poems from Slamming Open the Door. She currently teaches English and Creative Writing in Pennsylvania. For more information click on the image to the left.
Listen to the Story Fresh Air WHYY July 29, 2009
On The Page, Poet Mourns Daughter's Murder
Poet Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno's new collection of poems, Slamming Open the Door, documents the aftermath of the murder of her daughter Leidy Bonanno.
Article dated 10/29/2009
Poetry Reading and Book Signing Sunday, November 1, 2009 2 - 4 PM Charles Sullivan Auditorium at the Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences, 1025 Old Wyomissing Road.
