Irene “Honey” Thon, 82, a longtime hotel worker and music lover, died Thursday, Feb. 28, in Northwestern Memorial Hospital of complications from a systemic infection. Ms. Thon loved Chicago for its musical culture. She came from a family of nine children, and because her father died at a young age, she and her siblings went to work before they finished high school. After graduating, Ms. Thon earned a secretarial diploma, which she put to good use in business. For more than 15 years, she worked as an assistant to the owner of the former Alexandria Hotel on Ohio Street. “She was doing what it would take three or four people to do today,” said her daughter, Georgianne Walken. She would keep the books for the hotel as well as manage the owner’s, she was in charge of payroll and she oversaw personnel and hiring. Ms. Thon worked most of her life, said her daughter. And she was dedicated to her extended family, caring for her sister’s four children and adopting one of them when the family was under duress. Through it all, Ms. Thon remained dedicated to music. She liked most anything, but especially opera, said her daughter. “I remember being 6 or 7 years old with the mumps and lying on the couch and listening to `Medea.'” A gathering to honor her life is planned in April.
