North Adams Business Leader Dies; Services for Bond are Friday
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Bond managed his family real estate and banking interests, including the New Kimbell Building at 85 Main St. for many years until selling it to Scarafoni Associates in 2001. Long active in civic affairs, he served as president of the Northern Berkshire Development Corp. and later as president of the Berkshire County Development Corp. He also was a partner in North Adams Futures, which developed and owns the Berkshire Plaza.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on July 20, 1930, son of Frank A. and Margaret Wheeler Bond of North Adams, he attended local elementary schools and graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1948. He completed his undergraduate degree in economics at Cornell University and received his master's in business administration from Harvard University in 1962. Prior to attending Harvard, he served as a corporal in the Army during the Korean War.
For many years, Mr. Bond served on the board of directors and was chairman of the Audit Committee of the Berkshire Bank Conifer Group, a publicly traded company. He was the longest serving board member of Berkshire Gas Co. and a member of the board of investors of Hoosac Bank, which later merged with the North Adams Savings Bank.
In 1983, he founded Kimbell Securities, the first comprehensive financial services firm in North Adams. In 1998, he retired as president of the business, which is currently operating today as Bond & Co., owned and managed by his son, Frank Sydney Bond, and daughter-in-law, Erica.
He and his wife, the former Gabriella Mancini, also owned the Twin Sisters Inn, now Jae's Inn, in what had been their home on Curran Highway. He built a new home in the Orchard Terrace subdivision on the Mohawk Trail, which he and Robert W. Collins, former president of Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan and Collins, developed.
Mr. Bond's efforts in leading the city's business development continued as a founder and past president of the former Downtown Development Inc. This group of local leaders commissioned the Hyatt-Palma Report that currently guides city improvement efforts, including launching the annual city downtown celebration. He was also instrumental in establishing the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in the former Sprague Electric mill and was proud to call himself a founding contributor.
In 1976, he was appointed by then Gov. Michael S. Dukakis to serve on the State Board of Education. During his 11-year tenure, Mr. Bond also represented the state on the board of the National Association of State Boards of Education. He traveled to Japan in 1978 as a member of a team of representatives from the United States to study innovative educational practices.
He served in a number of roles to help many worthy local causes through the years. Until very recently, he proudly served on the board of the Northern Berkshire United Way, which his father had helped establish during World War II.
He was chairman of the Northern Berkshire YMCA and oversaw the construction of its new facility off State Road. He was a trustee of North Adams Regional Hospital and led many of its capital campaigns. Mr. Bond was also an active member of First Congregational Church, serving on many of its committees and joyfully participating in the choir.
Like his father before him, Mr. Bond had a deep love for North Adams and all it has to offer. When not actively serving the community, he could often be found enjoying the natural beauty of the area or chatting with folks as he walked down Main Street. He enjoyed skiing, golfing, gardening and spending time with his son at The Range miniature golf course on Curran Highway.
He and his wife celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary on Feb. 14. They were married in Boston.
Besides his wife, and son and daughter-in-law of Needham, he leaves a daughter, Constance Kimbell Bond and her fiance, Rolando Gardon, of New Rochelle, N.Y.; two other sons, David Austin Bond and his wife, Karen, of North Adams and Nestor "Oli" Bond, and his wife, Lynette, of New York City; three grandchildren, John Bond, Gloria Bond and Joseph Bond, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was predeceased by his sister, Louise Bond Frazer.
FUNERAL NOTICE — A memorial service to celebrate the life of Jack Bond will be held Friday, May 16, at 4 p.m. at First Congregational Church in North Adams. A reception for family and friends will follow at American Legion Post 125 in North Adams at 5. Private burial will be in Southview cemetery; there will be no calling hours.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Northern Berkshire United Way or First Congregational Church in care of Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, Central Chapels, 74 Marshall St., North Adams, MA 01247.
