Eugene Bondar

1923 - 2019

Eugene "Gene" Bondar, 95, of Washington, died peacefully Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Peters Township.

Born May 8, 1923, in Chicago, Ill., he was a son of the late Andrew and Marie Skwarek Bondar.

As a co-pilot in the U.S. Army Air Forces in the Second World War, he flew transport planes across the Pacific supplying bases in Hawaii, Bora Bora, Kwajalein and Australia, supporting the liberation of the Philippines, the invasion of Okinawa and the occupation of Japan and returning many liberated American POW's. He earned two battle stars, the Air Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal and rank of captain in the U.S. Air Force in service to his country.

Inspired by the many exotic people and places he encountered during the war, he used the GI Bill to study anthropology at Lawrence University and in graduate school at Colorado State. Two Fulbright Scholarships enabled research trips to Kenya in Africa, with later projects in South Africa, Zambia and Sudan.

In 1957, he married Elsa Schmieger, also of Chicago, his beloved wife for the next 60 years. Pursuing Gene's academic career, they lived in Joliet, Ill., Syracuse, N.Y., and Kisii, Kenya, before settling in Grand Island, N.Y., where he taught anthropology at the State University College at Buffalo.

Always active, he enjoyed hiking, biking, mountain-climbing, cross-country skiing, and canoe and backpacking trips with the Adirondack Mountain Club, and participated in archaeological excavations on three continents. In retirement, he continued to work as a National Park ranger/archaeologist in Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, and several other parks in the western United States, and gave lectures at the Buffalo Museum of Science. After living in western New York for more than 50 years, he and Elsa moved to Washington to live near their son and daughter.

He is survived by his children, Douglas (Angelika) Bondar of Augusta, Ga., Carol (Samuel) Johnson of McMurray and Gregory (Elisa) Bondar of Greensburg, and five grandchildren.

He was the brother of the late Henry Bondar of Chicago.

Gene's family wishes to express their gratitude to the staff at Strabane Trails Village and Donnell House in Washington, Paramount Senior Living in Peters Township, and especially the Caring Mission of Washington, for their skilled and compassionate care.

A family adventure to celebrate Gene's life will be held in the summer.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the National Parks Foundation at https://www.nationalparks.org, or the National WWII Museum at https://www.nationalww2museum.org.