Charles Richard Bond, BHS 1942

Charles Richard Bond, BHS 1942

SEPT 16, 1924 -- MAR 12, 2010

Modesto Bee, The (CA) - Sunday, March 28, 2010

Charles Richard Bond passed away Friday evening 12 March 2010 in his home in Hughson, California after spending the day with friends. Charles Richard 'Dick' Bond was born in the family home in Burbank, California on 16 September 1924 to Henry Bond and Essie Gibson Bond. Charles, the youngest of four children loved travel, boating, and adventure.

He was an engineer who loved to tinker. He built boats and before the war and worked for the phone company. During WW II he joined the Army Air Force, trained as pilot, was a commissioned officer, and a decorated P-47 'Thunderbolt' fighter pilot flying many missions from Britain over France and Germany. Charles was recalled into the U. S. Air Force as a flight instructor during the Korean conflict. He choose a military career and worked for the Air Force Space System Division until his retirement as in 1969. Upon retiring he worked in the aerospace industry.

He attended Burbank High School and studied aeronautical and electrical engineering at Caltech and at Oklahoma State University. In 1949 he married Gloria Gyllberg of Pomona. She bore him two sons, Steven in 1952 and Timothy in 1956. In 1967 he married Barbara Meza in San Jose and adopted her children Barbara, Deirdre, and Peter, as his own. In 1968 Barbara bore him a daughter, Leslie.

His career moved him from southern and northern California, to Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and eventually to Hughson, California in 1980 where he had lived since. For the last 25 years, he was the adopted grandfather of Veronica, Enrique, Israel, Lilliana, Elena, and Ruben, the children of Francisco and Maria Gonzalez of Hughson.

Of him, they knew of no one before who gave so much without ever expecting anything in return. He is remembered for his emphasis on self-reliance. He encouraged all his children to achieve independence and to learn and improve themselves. He pushed all his children to explore questions to arrive at an answers independently, and to make their decisions early, move forward, to deal with the consequences as they arose.

He insisted that "no child will be a quitter'' and counseled that "our sorrows keep us humble''. He nurtured the importance of a meal together as a family to maintain the unity of family. He championed alternative medicine and nutritional therapy as preferable to the established medical industry. He was skeptical of all pharmaceuticals. He remained mentally acute and physically independent until his last day.

And, on his last day, he spent the time visiting friends and family in his home. He smoked his pipe a last time while relaxing in his chair. Then, as though taking a nap, he quietly departed this world.

Charles was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers and sister: Frank, Robert, and Margie, and just last year by his son Timothy living in Kansas. He is survived by all his other children, grand children, and great grandchildren. www.modbee.com/obituaries