Sonya Helen Dunfield

Sonya Helen (Klopfer) Dunfield, of Sun Valley, passed away peacefully of natural causes on Aug. 7 at the age of 90. Family and friends were present in her last days.

Sonya was a world-class, international competitive figure skater, performer, coach, sister, wife and mother. She spent her life sharing the sport she loved, touching the lives of and influencing many acclaimed figure skaters during an active 65-year career in the sport. The mother to many, with her outgoing spirit, athletic achievements and kind and giving nature, leaves behind a large life filled with positive influence within her family, the world of figure skating and all whom she met.

Sonya was born on Dec. 26, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York, to Oswald and Margarethe Klopfer. She was the third of four sisters, Ursula, Trudy and Anita. As a German immigrant family fleeing a rising Hitler, her parents and two sisters came through Ellis Island with the belief that America offered opportunity for all.

Growing up as a six-person family in a two-room cold water flat in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, in the 1930s was not easy. But the family was strong-willed, hard-working, resilient and very close. The way they all supported each other lifted them all up, never leaving anyone behind. Sonya credited her skating success to her mother’s “sage guidance, fortitude and desire to help me achieve my dreams." The family made huge sacrifices to support her skating. The support by her sisters was always there, and they always took care of each other.

Her skating career started on the frozen playgrounds of Brooklyn with “double runners” where she started skating at the late age 9, then moving on to the Brooklyn Ice Palace where she showed true athletic talent which she honed with hard work, coaching and great spirit.

In 1949, at age 15, she became the youngest U.S. Junior Women’s National Figure Skating champion ever, going on to become the U.S. Senior Women’s Silver Medalist in 1950. As a senior competitor she began to represent the Skating Club of New York. It was in 1951, at 17, when she reached her competitive pinnacle as the U.S. and North American Senior Women’s Gold Medalist (again the youngest to reach such an achievement at the time).

Also in 1951, she was the bronze medalist in the World Figure Skating Championships in Milan. The following year she was the team captain at the 1952 Oslo Winter Olympics, where she placed fourth, just off the podium. But Sonya truly made her mark less than a month later at the 1952 World Championships in Paris, where she took silver but was widely acclaimed to have won the gold title by those who were there that day.

Her individual competitive achievements were especially meaningful. Because of family financial constraints, her coaches did not travel with her to these competitions, and her mother Margarethe was only able to accompany her to a few events. Sonya, unlike most of the skaters she competed against, did it on her own. Dick Button declared her “the strongest woman in figure skating." Competing in a post World War II world as a German American in a judged sport was not easy.

With a competitive career shortened by financial constraints, she launched a successful professional skating career with Ice Capades, Holiday on Ice and Cinderella on Ice at Empress Hall in London. She was the headliner at the original opening of the Wollman Rink in Central Park and performed the final skating performance at the Roxy Theatre in New York City. Also, she performed at many benefit events in Madison Square Garden and Rockefeller Center.

She put great energy into her performances, which were notable for their speed, grace and balance, as she flowed over the ice with classic skating artistry. Famous for her incredible split jump, toeless Lutz and spins, she dazzled audiences around the world. Her personality and vitality on the ice were memorable. Sonya made her last performance in Legends on Ice at age 70. For Sonya, it was always the performing, not the accolades or medals, which remained meaningful and memorable.

Turning down a Hollywood offer to start a family instead, she transitioned from show performer to coach in the early 1960s. This is when she met her husband, Canadian figure skater Peter Dunfield, on a snowy evening walking around the lake at Broadmoor in 1961. They were married on Fifth Avenue in New York City on May 16, 1964. A few years later they had two sons, Gregory and Roger, and in later years were blessed with four grandchildren, Taylor, Jordan, Nathan and Coby.

Connection with her sisters remained strong as all but one settled in the New York area with many memorable family holiday gatherings. Her family was very important to her and she kept the ties close. She was an amazing mother and provider who always encouraged a positive approach to life, no matter the circumstance.

She was a skater’s skater whose love for the sport only grew after her competitive and performing careers. Starting in the early 1960s, for over 50 years, it was her coaching career which had the most impact and duration on the skating world. As a solo coach, or teamed up with her husband, Peter, they coached many international competitors at four Olympic and 13 World and National competitions. Their style and skills at coaching complimented each other. Her technical knowledge of body mechanics for figure and free skating was sought out by many champions. But it was the joy she felt teaching something new to that young beginner skater that gave her the most satisfaction.

Starting in the early 1960s, for 25 years, at the Skating Club of New York they had brilliant coaching careers together based in the United States and Canada drawing skaters from around the world. When the Midtown Manhattan ice rink closed around 1983, they moved to the Gloucester Skating Club in Orleans (Ottawa), Ontario. After completion of the indoor ice rink in Sun Valley in 1974 they began an annual summer residence there. They coached figure skaters at the training center every summer for over 25 years, ultimately making Sun Valley their permanent home and final resting place.

Sonya’s students included Dorothy Hamill, Elizabeth Manley and Yuka Sato to name a few. Her admiration, accomplishments and influence have been recognized with induction into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 2001, the Professional Skaters Association Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005, the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2009, and in 2019 she was inducted into the Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame.

Her competitive achievements are second to her influence in the sport as a coach, mentor and mother who touched the lives of so many with her spirit, guidance and strength. This spirit of positive influence, which is carried on to this day through her family and pupils, will live on for many years. For this she is remembered most. She will be deeply missed.

She is survived by her sister Anita (Klopfer) Jorgenson; sons Gregory (Elizabeth) and Roger (Yvonne); grandchildren Taylor, Jordan, Nathan and Coby.

She now joins her love, Peter, with their “View of the Mountains” in their beloved Sun Valley.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 3 p.m. at the Ketchum Cemetery with a celebration to follow at the Dunfield residence in Sun Valley. All are welcome.

Donations in memory of Sonya may be made to the Sun Valley Figure Skating Club, P.O. Box 351, Sun Valley, ID, 83353.