Robert W. Bond, 84, a lifelong resident of Londonderry Township, passed away on Sept. 6, 2020 at Altercare with his family by his side. He was born on May 15, 1936 to the late Verland Major Bond and Mary Shipley Bond Carter. He graduated from Madison High School in 1954 and married his high school sweetheart Donna Evelyn Chase Bond on March 24, 1956. They started the family farm which grew to around 600 acres with beef cattle, sheep, and horses with an occasional milk cow and pigs.
In high school Robert “Bob” received the State Farmer Degree and was elected State Treasurer of the FFA. In 1970, he was named Outstanding Young Farmer by the Cambridge Jaycees. As a lifelong farmer he also served in numerous agriculture committees as a volunteer including 4-H advisor, Guernsey County Senior Fairboard, Ohio Sheep Shearers Association, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, and Farm Bureau. He was on the Board of Directors for Young Farmers Association, Feeder Calf Boards of Guernsey-Noble and Barnesville, Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS)/Farm Services Agency. He was a member and trustee of Oak Grove Calvary Chapel.
He served as a Londonderry Township Trustee for ten years, Tri-State Asphalt for three years and later worked as a supervisor for the reclamation division of R&F Coal Company. He was a professional sheep shearer in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Sheep shearing became more than a paying job, he competed in multiple sheep shearing competitions culminating in a 1st place in the sheep shearer senior division at the Ohio State Fair in 1998.
He and his wife passed their competitive nature onto their children and grandchildren. Bob proudly watched his children compete with his homegrown beef cattle, sheep and swine at the county fair. In his later years he watched his grandchildren successfully compete in sheep, swine, horses, and sporting activities. Some of his children and grandchildren were gifted in the performing arts and he delighted in watching their vocal, instrumental, and drama performances. In his earlier days he would saddle up horses for the entire family and rode the fields and back country roads with his wife and children.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Donna; his sister Ruth (Bond) and Raymond Nichols; five children, Cindy Bond; Philip Bond, Sharrie (Bond) and Scott Stephens, Steve and Kathy Bond, and Marcy (Bond) and Aaron Layne and 13 grandchildren; Andrea Bond, Sam Bond-Zielinski, Eric Bond, Stephanie Bond, Tyler Bond, Logan Bond, Natalie Bond, Nathan Bond, (Tori) and Travis Clark, Elisabeth and (Chad) Caudill, David Bond, Cayden Layne and Annabelle Layne and 5 great grand children.
Visitation will be held Wednesday, Sept. 9 from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. and 6 p.m. -8 p.m. at the Bond Funeral Home in Londonderry, Ohio. Graveside services will be held at the Sunset View Cemetery, Londonderry, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. with Aaron Layne and Bob Merritt officiating. Online wishes can be made at www.bondfuneralhome.net.
Bob and Donna participated in music and the traditional high school play in their school days. This memory led them to become major contributors to the East Guernsey Fine and Performing Arts Fund for East Guernsey Schools. This fund is with the Guernsey County Community Foundation. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider contributing to this fund by mailing to the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, East Guernsey Fine and Performing Arts Fund, In Memory of Robert W. Bond, P.0. Box 456, Nelsonville, Ohio 45764.