Eleanor Bonnie McCoy

Eleanor Bonnie McCoy, 87, of Cleveland Heights, OH, died on February 12, 2014 of a terminal illness. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky, where she graduated from Collegiate School in 1944. Eleanor graduated from Smith College in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History.
After college, Eleanor returned to Louisville to become a reporter and feature writer for the Louisville Courier Journal. In 1950, she married Sevier Bonnie, Jr., also of Louisville, and they moved to Cleveland in 1961 with their three children, Sevier III, Louisa and Josephine.
Eleanor immersed herself in volunteering in various capacities, most notably as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Northeast Ohio Multiple Sclerosis Society, President of the Laurel Parents' Association, Chair of the Women's Committee of the Cleveland Institute of Art, Board of Trustees of the Cleveland Institute of Art, and member of the Foundation Board of Cleveland State University. Additionally, she directed the Metropolitan Opera local auditions for Northeast Ohio and Toronto.
Eleanor was deeply committed to the arts in Cleveland. Her involvement in the New Organization in the Visual Arts from 1977 to 1983 led her to establish a unique art marketing firm called NOVART, which represented 90 local artists in six different media. As Founder and Director of NOVART, she marketed Cleveland artists to corporations and businesses throughout the city.
Her dedication to the Cleveland Museum of Art is well established by her resume of accomplishments and positions: Co-Chair of the Museum Council, Honorary Trustee, Trustee of Musart Society, member of the Print Club, Contemporary Art Society and the Painting and Drawing Society. Further, she was a member of the Womens Council and volunteered in the Education Department for 10 years.
Art and music were her passions, as exemplified by her love of watercolor painting and over 20 years of performing eight-handed piano with dedicated pianist friends. She was an avid tennis player, as was her husband, Sevier, who pre-deceased her in 1984. They were doubles partners in many local amateur tournaments. When they were not playing tennis they were traveling.
In 1996, she remarried to William C. McCoy of Hunting Valley, His children are William B. McCoy and Natasha Beery and two grandchildren, Clara and Julia McCoy of Berkeley, CA, Sarah and Jim Buchanan and two grandchildren, Elizabeth and Hope Buchanan of Seattle, WA; Louise and Hans Franke of Incline Village, NV; and Peter and Naomi McCoy and two grandchildren, Maxine and Cleo McCoy of Portland, OR.