From Atlanta Journal Constitution, March 28, 2007
Jack H. Bond , age 78, of Ellenwood, died March 25, 2007. Mr. Bond was a native of Ellenwood. At the age of 49 he retired from GM after 30 years of service at the Lakewood Plant. After Southern "peach farmers" warned him that a peach orchard business in Henry County would fail, he opened and ran a successful pick your own and roadside business, "Bonds Peach Orchard" for 30 plus years. Mr. Bond was a member of Masonic Lodge Post #543.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Era L. Bond ; son, John H. Bond , Tyrone, son, Ronald M. Bond and wife Kristie, Statham; daughter, Deborah A. Bond , Ellenwood; grandchildren, Derek, Samantha and Kristopher Bond ; sister, Nancy M. Rosser, McDonough; niece, Leigh Gafford, McDonough; nephew, Chuck Rosser, Locust Grove; stepmother, Dorothy Stanley Bond , Ellenwood.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at Ward's Fairview Chapel with Reverend Richard Barnes and Reverend Dave Fisher officiating.
From Atlanta Journal Constitution, March 28, 2007
The soil was no good. The frost fell at the wrong time. No one grew peaches in that stretch of Henry County. At least, that's what everybody kept telling Jack H. Bond, who was too headstrong to pay them any mind. Summer after summer, from mid-June to August, his 18-acre peach orchard burst forth in fragrant defiance. As soon as one variety started to wane, another claimed its place in the sun.
"He had rows and rows of peach trees from the front all the way to the back," said his sister-in-law Essie Born of Palmetto. "And they were so sweet. I may be prejudiced, but I think he had the best ones around at the time, and that's what made people come. "On Saturdays, all the way you could see up the road and all the way back would be cars, and they'd all come back every year," she said. "They'd start calling about the last of May, just worrying him to death and wanting to know if the peaches were ready yet."
Mr. Bond, 78, of Ellenwood died Sunday at Hospice Atlanta of complications from leukemia. The funeral is 4 p.m. today at Horis A. Ward, Fairview Chapel.
He lived his whole life in Ellenwood near his family and spent 30 years at the General Motors plant in Lakewood, but that was just a fraction of his working life. "He worked a very early shift at Lakewood, and once he got off he had about two or three other jobs," said his daughter, Deborah A. Bond of Ellenwood. "He worked pretty much until nighttime and only got a few hours of sleep every night." "He used to put up chain-link fences for Sears, he worked for Goodyear tire company, he worked for Pinkerton security, he was a deputized sheriff for Henry County, and he also worked as a carpenter," she said.
"Jack had a very analytical mind and could figure out the solution to anything," said cousin Judy Neal of Stockbridge. "If anybody could have made the orchard work, he would have been the one," she said. "He would put so much energy into it, and most people just wouldn't be willing to do that."
For 30 years, starting with the first blush of blossoms, Mr. Bond toiled in the orchard he'd planted when his children were young. He hand-selected perfect peaches for baskets sold from his roadside stand, then threw open the floodgates and let customers pick their own. Mr. Bond finally dug up his trees and closed his orchard in 1992, but he never lost his taste for peaches. "He loved to cut them up and eat them real fine," his sister-in-law said. "That's about the last thing he ate before he died."
At its peak, she said, his orchard brought him more happiness than the other fruits of his labor. For one thing, she said, "he could get outdoors and do what he wanted. He was raised in the country and he was just a plain old country boy." Mostly, though, he got a kick out of his customers, including city dwellers who naively asked if they needed to bring a ladder to pick the fruit. "He was a talker," his sister-in-law said. "He'd sit and talk to you all day if you'd let him. He just bubbled over." The bumper-to-bumper traffic proved him right, his daughter said, "and he kind of loved being in the spotlight."
Survivors other than his daughter include his wife, Era L. Bond; two sons, John H. Bond of Tyrone and Ronald M. Bond of Statham; a sister, Nancy M. Rosser of McDonough; his stepmother, Dorothy Stanley Bond of Ellenwood; and three grandchildren.
Jack H. Bond , age 78, of Ellenwood, died March 25, 2007. Mr. Bond was a native of Ellenwood. At the age of 49 he retired from GM after 30 years of service at the Lakewood Plant. After Southern "peach farmers" warned him that a peach orchard business in Henry County would fail, he opened and ran a successful pick your own and roadside business, "Bonds Peach Orchard" for 30 plus years. Mr. Bond was a member of Masonic Lodge Post #543.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Era L. Bond ; son, John H. Bond , Tyrone, son, Ronald M. Bond and wife Kristie, Statham; daughter, Deborah A. Bond , Ellenwood; grandchildren, Derek, Samantha and Kristopher Bond ; sister, Nancy M. Rosser, McDonough; niece, Leigh Gafford, McDonough; nephew, Chuck Rosser, Locust Grove; stepmother, Dorothy Stanley Bond , Ellenwood.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at Ward's Fairview Chapel with Reverend Richard Barnes and Reverend Dave Fisher officiating.
From Atlanta Journal Constitution, March 28, 2007
The soil was no good. The frost fell at the wrong time. No one grew peaches in that stretch of Henry County. At least, that's what everybody kept telling Jack H. Bond, who was too headstrong to pay them any mind. Summer after summer, from mid-June to August, his 18-acre peach orchard burst forth in fragrant defiance. As soon as one variety started to wane, another claimed its place in the sun.
"He had rows and rows of peach trees from the front all the way to the back," said his sister-in-law Essie Born of Palmetto. "And they were so sweet. I may be prejudiced, but I think he had the best ones around at the time, and that's what made people come. "On Saturdays, all the way you could see up the road and all the way back would be cars, and they'd all come back every year," she said. "They'd start calling about the last of May, just worrying him to death and wanting to know if the peaches were ready yet."
Mr. Bond, 78, of Ellenwood died Sunday at Hospice Atlanta of complications from leukemia. The funeral is 4 p.m. today at Horis A. Ward, Fairview Chapel.
He lived his whole life in Ellenwood near his family and spent 30 years at the General Motors plant in Lakewood, but that was just a fraction of his working life. "He worked a very early shift at Lakewood, and once he got off he had about two or three other jobs," said his daughter, Deborah A. Bond of Ellenwood. "He worked pretty much until nighttime and only got a few hours of sleep every night." "He used to put up chain-link fences for Sears, he worked for Goodyear tire company, he worked for Pinkerton security, he was a deputized sheriff for Henry County, and he also worked as a carpenter," she said.
"Jack had a very analytical mind and could figure out the solution to anything," said cousin Judy Neal of Stockbridge. "If anybody could have made the orchard work, he would have been the one," she said. "He would put so much energy into it, and most people just wouldn't be willing to do that."
For 30 years, starting with the first blush of blossoms, Mr. Bond toiled in the orchard he'd planted when his children were young. He hand-selected perfect peaches for baskets sold from his roadside stand, then threw open the floodgates and let customers pick their own. Mr. Bond finally dug up his trees and closed his orchard in 1992, but he never lost his taste for peaches. "He loved to cut them up and eat them real fine," his sister-in-law said. "That's about the last thing he ate before he died."
At its peak, she said, his orchard brought him more happiness than the other fruits of his labor. For one thing, she said, "he could get outdoors and do what he wanted. He was raised in the country and he was just a plain old country boy." Mostly, though, he got a kick out of his customers, including city dwellers who naively asked if they needed to bring a ladder to pick the fruit. "He was a talker," his sister-in-law said. "He'd sit and talk to you all day if you'd let him. He just bubbled over." The bumper-to-bumper traffic proved him right, his daughter said, "and he kind of loved being in the spotlight."
Survivors other than his daughter include his wife, Era L. Bond; two sons, John H. Bond of Tyrone and Ronald M. Bond of Statham; a sister, Nancy M. Rosser of McDonough; his stepmother, Dorothy Stanley Bond of Ellenwood; and three grandchildren.
From Atlanta Journal Constitution, March 28, 2007
Jack H. Bond , age 78, of Ellenwood, died March 25, 2007. Mr. Bond was a native of Ellenwood. At the age of 49 he retired from GM after 30 years of service at the Lakewood Plant. After Southern "peach farmers" warned him that a peach orchard business in Henry County would fail, he opened and ran a successful pick your own and roadside business, "Bonds Peach Orchard" for 30 plus years. Mr. Bond was a member of Masonic Lodge Post #543.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Era L. Bond ; son, John H. Bond , Tyrone, son, Ronald M. Bond and wife Kristie, Statham; daughter, Deborah A. Bond , Ellenwood; grandchildren, Derek, Samantha and Kristopher Bond ; sister, Nancy M. Rosser, McDonough; niece, Leigh Gafford, McDonough; nephew, Chuck Rosser, Locust Grove; stepmother, Dorothy Stanley Bond , Ellenwood.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at Ward's Fairview Chapel with Reverend Richard Barnes and Reverend Dave Fisher officiating.
From Atlanta Journal Constitution, March 28, 2007
The soil was no good. The frost fell at the wrong time. No one grew peaches in that stretch of Henry County. At least, that's what everybody kept telling Jack H. Bond, who was too headstrong to pay them any mind. Summer after summer, from mid-June to August, his 18-acre peach orchard burst forth in fragrant defiance. As soon as one variety started to wane, another claimed its place in the sun.
"He had rows and rows of peach trees from the front all the way to the back," said his sister-in-law Essie Born of Palmetto. "And they were so sweet. I may be prejudiced, but I think he had the best ones around at the time, and that's what made people come. "On Saturdays, all the way you could see up the road and all the way back would be cars, and they'd all come back every year," she said. "They'd start calling about the last of May, just worrying him to death and wanting to know if the peaches were ready yet."
Mr. Bond, 78, of Ellenwood died Sunday at Hospice Atlanta of complications from leukemia. The funeral is 4 p.m. today at Horis A. Ward, Fairview Chapel.
He lived his whole life in Ellenwood near his family and spent 30 years at the General Motors plant in Lakewood, but that was just a fraction of his working life. "He worked a very early shift at Lakewood, and once he got off he had about two or three other jobs," said his daughter, Deborah A. Bond of Ellenwood. "He worked pretty much until nighttime and only got a few hours of sleep every night." "He used to put up chain-link fences for Sears, he worked for Goodyear tire company, he worked for Pinkerton security, he was a deputized sheriff for Henry County, and he also worked as a carpenter," she said.
"Jack had a very analytical mind and could figure out the solution to anything," said cousin Judy Neal of Stockbridge. "If anybody could have made the orchard work, he would have been the one," she said. "He would put so much energy into it, and most people just wouldn't be willing to do that."
For 30 years, starting with the first blush of blossoms, Mr. Bond toiled in the orchard he'd planted when his children were young. He hand-selected perfect peaches for baskets sold from his roadside stand, then threw open the floodgates and let customers pick their own. Mr. Bond finally dug up his trees and closed his orchard in 1992, but he never lost his taste for peaches. "He loved to cut them up and eat them real fine," his sister-in-law said. "That's about the last thing he ate before he died."
At its peak, she said, his orchard brought him more happiness than the other fruits of his labor. For one thing, she said, "he could get outdoors and do what he wanted. He was raised in the country and he was just a plain old country boy." Mostly, though, he got a kick out of his customers, including city dwellers who naively asked if they needed to bring a ladder to pick the fruit. "He was a talker," his sister-in-law said. "He'd sit and talk to you all day if you'd let him. He just bubbled over." The bumper-to-bumper traffic proved him right, his daughter said, "and he kind of loved being in the spotlight."
Survivors other than his daughter include his wife, Era L. Bond; two sons, John H. Bond of Tyrone and Ronald M. Bond of Statham; a sister, Nancy M. Rosser of McDonough; his stepmother, Dorothy Stanley Bond of Ellenwood; and three grandchildren.
Jack H. Bond , age 78, of Ellenwood, died March 25, 2007. Mr. Bond was a native of Ellenwood. At the age of 49 he retired from GM after 30 years of service at the Lakewood Plant. After Southern "peach farmers" warned him that a peach orchard business in Henry County would fail, he opened and ran a successful pick your own and roadside business, "Bonds Peach Orchard" for 30 plus years. Mr. Bond was a member of Masonic Lodge Post #543.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Era L. Bond ; son, John H. Bond , Tyrone, son, Ronald M. Bond and wife Kristie, Statham; daughter, Deborah A. Bond , Ellenwood; grandchildren, Derek, Samantha and Kristopher Bond ; sister, Nancy M. Rosser, McDonough; niece, Leigh Gafford, McDonough; nephew, Chuck Rosser, Locust Grove; stepmother, Dorothy Stanley Bond , Ellenwood.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at Ward's Fairview Chapel with Reverend Richard Barnes and Reverend Dave Fisher officiating.
From Atlanta Journal Constitution, March 28, 2007
The soil was no good. The frost fell at the wrong time. No one grew peaches in that stretch of Henry County. At least, that's what everybody kept telling Jack H. Bond, who was too headstrong to pay them any mind. Summer after summer, from mid-June to August, his 18-acre peach orchard burst forth in fragrant defiance. As soon as one variety started to wane, another claimed its place in the sun.
"He had rows and rows of peach trees from the front all the way to the back," said his sister-in-law Essie Born of Palmetto. "And they were so sweet. I may be prejudiced, but I think he had the best ones around at the time, and that's what made people come. "On Saturdays, all the way you could see up the road and all the way back would be cars, and they'd all come back every year," she said. "They'd start calling about the last of May, just worrying him to death and wanting to know if the peaches were ready yet."
Mr. Bond, 78, of Ellenwood died Sunday at Hospice Atlanta of complications from leukemia. The funeral is 4 p.m. today at Horis A. Ward, Fairview Chapel.
He lived his whole life in Ellenwood near his family and spent 30 years at the General Motors plant in Lakewood, but that was just a fraction of his working life. "He worked a very early shift at Lakewood, and once he got off he had about two or three other jobs," said his daughter, Deborah A. Bond of Ellenwood. "He worked pretty much until nighttime and only got a few hours of sleep every night." "He used to put up chain-link fences for Sears, he worked for Goodyear tire company, he worked for Pinkerton security, he was a deputized sheriff for Henry County, and he also worked as a carpenter," she said.
"Jack had a very analytical mind and could figure out the solution to anything," said cousin Judy Neal of Stockbridge. "If anybody could have made the orchard work, he would have been the one," she said. "He would put so much energy into it, and most people just wouldn't be willing to do that."
For 30 years, starting with the first blush of blossoms, Mr. Bond toiled in the orchard he'd planted when his children were young. He hand-selected perfect peaches for baskets sold from his roadside stand, then threw open the floodgates and let customers pick their own. Mr. Bond finally dug up his trees and closed his orchard in 1992, but he never lost his taste for peaches. "He loved to cut them up and eat them real fine," his sister-in-law said. "That's about the last thing he ate before he died."
At its peak, she said, his orchard brought him more happiness than the other fruits of his labor. For one thing, she said, "he could get outdoors and do what he wanted. He was raised in the country and he was just a plain old country boy." Mostly, though, he got a kick out of his customers, including city dwellers who naively asked if they needed to bring a ladder to pick the fruit. "He was a talker," his sister-in-law said. "He'd sit and talk to you all day if you'd let him. He just bubbled over." The bumper-to-bumper traffic proved him right, his daughter said, "and he kind of loved being in the spotlight."
Survivors other than his daughter include his wife, Era L. Bond; two sons, John H. Bond of Tyrone and Ronald M. Bond of Statham; a sister, Nancy M. Rosser of McDonough; his stepmother, Dorothy Stanley Bond of Ellenwood; and three grandchildren.
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