Eileen Bonnie Devlin

Bonnie was born on September 27, 1952 in Plainfield, NJ and raised in Rahway, N.J. She graduated from Douglass College in New Brunswick, NJ with a BA degree in Philosophy in 1974. In her lifelong dedication to learning and education, she earned four advanced degrees: MA in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education; MA in Creative Arts Education, both from Rutgers University; a PhD in Aesthetics and Humanities from NYU; a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School.

Bonnie dedicated her life’s work to building bridges between cultural groups through education, music and performing arts. She believed that all cultures share common traits that unify all humans. Her work was focused on building communities of welcoming, nurturing and joyful diversity.

While attending graduate school, she worked at Rutgers and NYU as an Administrator of Cultural affairs and Assistant to the Dean for Student Orientation. From 1982 to 1998 she served as an Adjunct Professor teaching Humanities, Aesthetics and Spirituality. She also mentored many students during their academic careers.

Bonnie answered a call to the ministry and was ordained in 1991 by the First and Second Church of Boston Massachusetts. She served as Minister for Unitarian Congregational parishes in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Florida until 2013. Her ministries always stressed community, inclusiveness, diversity, and especially the joys of shared music.

As a child, Bonnie was drawn to the power of hand drumming. Her first drum was given to her by her parents at age 8. In 1979 she heard recordings of Haitian Vodu music at the Brooklyn Museum and was immediately drawn to it. She visited Haiti, witnessed live performances and returned to New York determined to apprentice with New York based percussionists. In 1983, after years of study and visits to Haiti, she was initiated as a Huntogi, a ceremonial drum master in Afro Haitian Vodu religious tradition. She was the first woman ever granted this honor.

As a percussionist, Bonnie performed in many solo and group performances, composed music and recorded two CDs “Action of Grace” and the “Drum and the Chalice.” Her musical compositions for “Black Medea” at the Actors Outlet in NYC won her an Audelco Award in 1987. She used drumming in her ministry and in her work as a music therapist to inspire and heal. She became known as an expert percussionist in Afro Caribbean, Brazilian, Haitian and Latin traditions.

In 2013 Bonnie retired from her Unitarian ministry career. She was ordained by Celtic Catholic church USA and continued to integrate spirituality, philosophy, music and the arts for the enrichment of people’s lives. She continued her work until the time of her death.

She is survived by her sister Kathy Devlin of Ellington, Florida and her life long friends/sisters of the heart, Connie Schmeltzly Witzing of Vermont, Ruette Watson of New Jersey and Deb Mangelus of Rhode Island.

As a legacy, Bonnie’s extensive collection of specialized percussion instruments was donated to the Manatee School for the Arts in Florida, to benefit a new generation of musicians.

Bonnie will be greatly missed for her spirit, her heart, her laughter and her dedication to making One World in which we all share our common humanity.

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, July 10, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at the Douglass College (Rutgers University) Vorhees Chapel, 5 Chapel Drive, New Brunswick New Jersey.

A second service will be held in Provincetown, Massachusetts in September, 2018. Details will be available on Bonnie’s Facebook page.