Our family is saddened by this loss of a SCDS teacher and friend. Ron loved teaching, coaching, books and making music. A kind and gentle man.

- Worley, Baltimore, MD

My daughter, Kathrinne Duffy, had the good fortune to be one of Mr. Onorato's former students, She thoroughly enjoyed his English/Writing class and said that he was one of her favorite teachers. Sure he inspired many others and will be sorely missed by all.

- Diane N VanWagner, Savannah, GA

Mr. Onorato was one of my absolute favorites and took me to Europe for my very first time. I still have my 9th grade English papers with his handwritten edits. Sending my love to his family and those he left behind. He was a giant among men.

- Caroline Coakley McDermott, Savannah, GA

Mr. Onorato was one of our favorite teachers and opened the door to so much fun and joy at SCDS. We have so many fond memories of what we read in class to our first glimpse of Monty Python and the Holy Grail to many, many games of bocce. We send our love and heartfelt condolences.

- Gena, Shahriar, and Genus Heidary, Cambridge, MA

Ron Onorato was an incredible teacher. He was my freshman English teacher at SCD, and he was the first to teach me how to write an essay. I will never forget how we were to fold our paper in half so no one would see our grades. How merciful. Yet, he was such an encouraging teacher, and his grading was generous and full of mercy. His love of literature infectious, and I will never forget his joy over the imagery of the two scoops of ice cream in Updike's story story, the A&P. He also gave an unforgettable lecture on the Metamorphosis by Kafkha. I'll never forget him!

- Anna Itoi, LOS ALTOS HILLS, CA

Ron Onorato and I were friends and colleagues on the faculty at Savannah Country Day for many years. He was a wonderful teacher and an equally fine person.

- Byron Boyd, Savannah, Georgia

I was one of Mr. Onorato's 9th grade English student many years ago, and even though I wasn't his top student, he made a lasting impression on me. He had a way of bringing stories to life - challenging students to look beyond the surface to discover deeper meaning in what we read. His passion for literature was contagious, and his guidance in our writing made us all better. One of my favorite memories was how we used to interrupt his class to borrow his bocce set so we could play in the quad - and he always let us. It was a fun reminder of the lighter side he showed. I'm grateful to have been his student. He was truly one of a kind!

- Stuart Espy, Peachtree City , Georgia

Mr. Onorato was the reason I passed English classes at Country Day. My freshman year he tutored me for free. He went over my red ink covered papers and taught me three sentence structures (simple, compound, and complex) so I could pass the grammar portion of a paper. I did OK on content/ideas, but was averaging -630/100 on the grammar (comma splices) portion of the paper grade. I read my papers out loud to myself and put a comma when I thought someone might need to take a breath. He politely offered to help me with comma placement. He had my older sister, Anna, first and told me she broke his class records for all grades in his class. Whenever I give money to Country Day, I mention how much Mr. Onorato helped me early on as I was a transfer student from DeRenne Middle School. His help was invaluable. I thought I was the dumbest person in the class and so far behind everyone else. May he rest in peace. Thank you, Mr. O. May you be surrounded by saxophone tunes, great literature, and fun bocce games.

- Eunice Itoi, Knoxville , Tennessee

I am very sorry to hear of Mr. Onorato's passing. He was a fantastic English teacher! Soft-spoken during class...but he had so much to say...and so much wisdom to impart. While I would never consider myself a "close" student of his....he most definitely made a lifelong impression upon me. I have a leather-bound copy of Le Morte D'Arthur that I may need to pull off the bookshelf and read again for the first time since 9th grade! Rest in peace, Mr. O!

- Dee Adams, Columbia, SC

Mr. Onorato was an amazing teacher who taught his students the importance of precise word choice. He brought a deep enthusiasm of English literature and his one of a kind humor to every class. I will always remember studying Le Morte D Arthur with him and seeing a lighter side of his personality at bocce club. He will be missed.

- Stuart Williams, Atlanta, GA

Mr. Onorato taught my freshman English class at SCDS, 1992-93. My late brother Keith took the same class from him six years prior. Keith thought highly of the man, and they got along well together, both in the classroom and on the bocce field. In those days, Mr. Onorato actually organized and coached an SCDS bocce team, which competed beyond the campus grounds. The game of bocce suited our great teacher. It is a gentleman's game and a thinking man's game. It does not require elaborate equipment or expensive arenas. It is a non-violent game and, though it requires teamwork, does not stifle the individual. All are welcome to play. No one is excluded because they were born too short or slow. Men and women may play together. Afterwards, rather than a trip to the orthopedist, one might enjoy a proper Italian meal featuring a homemade ragu. By the time I was Mr. Onorato's student, he had established himself as one of the school's overqualified, genius teachers. Make no mistake: the Country Day campus may have been humbler back then, but its teachers could have held their own at any Ivy League institution. Mr. Onorato had us ninth graders read Le Morte D'Arthur in its entirety. That book is challenging for any reader, at any stage of development, yet he pushed us to do it, and we did, without any assistance from the internet or AI. Somehow, we did a lot of other reading in that class, and writing too--not dry, academic papers, but "personal experience" essays. These were the first real creative writing many of us had done. I later attended Dartmouth College and took an Arthurian English class taught by a renowned expert. Once again, we read and discussed Le Morte. Mr. Onorato's English class for 14 year olds was better. Mr. Onorato was a better teacher than the renowned Dartmouth professor. I regret that I did not keep in better touch with Mr. Onorato after I graduated. I ran into him a few times throughout the years, usually at The Fresh Market. He somehow always recognized me, and I saw the real pain in his face when I told him that Keith had died. He always seemed glad to see me. I told him I had written a couple of novels, but that they were lousy, and that no one wanted to publish them. He told me that I was a good writer, to keep at it, and to save the work I had done: important words to hear from an authority on the matter. Mr. Onorato was famously burdened by existential concerns. His Prufrockian fears were difficult for ninth graders to fathom, but he expressed them with superior humor and only as they related to the Modern short fiction he had us read. Somehow, a class covering Malory and Eliot made sense, probably because he also included Monty Python. I hope Mr. Onorato's mortal anxieties subsided as he aged, and I am happy that he lived to a good, old age. Just last week, I ordered a set of bocce balls. More than thirty years after he taught me, Mr. Onorato's noble influence remains, as it does for many, and so affects our thoughts and deeds and the lives of those around us. My condolences to his family and all who knew him.

- Brad Siskin, Savannah, Georgia

Mr Onorato was a great human and teacher. He challenged me more than any other teacher I had had to that point. He demanded my best and I am fortunate to have had his guidance. I will read some of his favorites this winter in his honor.

- Matthew Kenreich, Savannah , Ga

Mr. Onorato was my freshman year English teacher at SCDS in the fall of 1982, which I believe was his first year teaching at SCDS. He asked me a question, and answered my response, with a sentence that I can still hear 43 years later, as though it was yesterday. Having heard about my family from an older sibling who also attended SCDS, at the very beginning of the semester he asked me, "Do you really not own a television in your household?" to which I replied, "Yes." He then said, "Well, I should just give you an A right now and be done with it." I had NO IDEA what that meant at the time, and yet, that single sentence was likely one of the key drivers behind my decision to a.) become an English major, and b.) study Media Ecology under Neil Postman in graduate school. Now, I do know what it means, and I say the same thing to any new student of my own if I discover that they do not own a smart phone -- which is about one in every 500 students these days. Mr. Onorato, thank you for a lifelong impact on not only the trajectory of my life, but on the intellectual and spiritual development of my ten children, twelve grandchildren, and now thousands of students. You were profoundly impactful in your teaching, and I will remain forever grateful. Read Mercer Schuchardt, Class of '87

- Read Mercer Schuchardt, Wheaton/Milton, IL

Mr. Onorato was a pillar of Country Day for decades and an icon within the historically strong SCDS english department. I had him my freshman year and I will always remember him as an amazing teacher who shared his love for literature and writing with his students. He also had an amazingly dry and witty sense of humor that I will never forget. I am so sorry to his family and all of his many friends.

- McNab Reeves, Savannah, GA

It was not until I took college courses on Arthurian legend and realized they were more of a joke compared to what Mr. Onorato had already taught us in 9th grade that I realized how much I had underestimated him. I hope it brings his family comfort to know how deeply he impacted so many students at SCDS. His teaching remains alive in many of them.

- Andy Smith, Santa Fe, NM

Mr Onorato was one of a kind. I will never forget his 9th grade English class where he taught me how to truly write a paper. He made a big impact on everyone who knew him and he will be greatly missed!

- Ross Glendye, Savannah, GA

May we all revise and rework for the best possible phrasing.

- Steven Hollander, Savannah, GA

Mr. Onorato was the kind of teacher you never forget. His freshman year English class was iconic at Country Day. I think there are many students, myself included, who feel that it was Mr. Onorato that taught us how to write. I'll never forget how he returned our papers, meticulously marked up in green pen and always, always folded lengthwise. His insistence on proper grammar, particularly commas, was legendary. His insight into storytelling was exceptional. He was a generous teacher, opening his home yearly to the student contributors of Amanuensis magazine. I will always value the lessons he taught me and hope that his family knows how much of an impact he had on the lives of his students.

- Kerry Auer Fergus , Savannah , GA

Mr. Onorato was such a wonderful presence at SCDS for many years. His good humor, high standards, and abiding quirkiness were so essential to so many of us who were his students over the years. 30 years later, I still remember very clearly his very precise instructions for how we were to turn in our essays in his class. They always returned to us folded vertically with thorough and thoughtful comments and feedback in green ink. The example that he and his colleagues at SCDS gave in: 1) emphasizing the importance of writing as a craft and a mode of communicating a particular point of view; and 2) taking young people seriously as thinking and expressive beings, has been important to me throughout my own career as an educator. My thoughts are with his family in this time of transition.

- Zachary Lamb, Berkeley, CA, CA

Many of us owe so much to Ron Onorato's class. I can't help but think of his hilarious lecture on Joyce Kilmer's "Trees" and chuckle. Ron, requiescas in pace.

- Laughton Stanley, Cambridge, MA

He certainly made a lasting impression and challenged us all to discover the deeper meaning between the lines. I still have my 9th grade English text book with those Bible paper thin pages and tons of scribbled notes in the margins. The cover and spine are held together with duct tape applied circa 1989. Mr. Onorato was committed to his students, passionate about English literature, giving of his time, and very dedicated to SCDS. He coached our softball team with gusto, shared his sense of humor by wheeling out the big box TV with the Monty Python VHS tape, and showed us that a centuries old game (Bocce) could be fun. May he rest in peace with the knowledge that he had a positive impact on so many of us.

- Sara Dewberry Bremerman, Naples, FL

There is no greater privilege that a society can confer on any individual than to entrust him or her to teach some of its wisdom to those whose lives might be enhanced through the magical exchange. Ron earned and was entrusted with that privilege by the parents of hundreds of SCD students over the 27 years of his career. His classes, style, and lessons were memorable and epitomized that of an enormously charismatic teacher who lived a life of ideas, inspired and transformed students, and who was shamelessly passionate about his life as a teacher. He was legendary and one of those rare teachers whom his students never forgot and who had a profound effect on them as he found so many ways to motivate. He wanted nothing more than to share his understanding and love of writing with others to help improve their individual lives and ways of communicating. His legacy is secured by the legions of students who learned to love writing and organizing their thoughts through his wise and rich lessons. Thank you Ron.

- William Furey, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA