Family of Harris Joseph BOND and Germaine Alice BOIRE

The sponsors at Harris's baptism were his uncle, Clarence Lenneville,

and Aimei(?) (Pepin) Lenneville, who was probably Clarence's wife.

Harris was an only child, and his father died when Harris was only 16.

Harris had a great personality and was well-liked by all. As an

adult, he lived in a white house at 200 Poplar Avenue in West

Springfield, Massachusetts. He had a garden with corn and other

vegetables, and an above-ground pool. There was also a wooded area

with a walking path. He enjoyed sports and eating the delicious pies

that Germaine made. His mother lived with him after he married

Germaine, and Harris and Germaine always looked forward to retiring so

they could move to Florida and be alone together. Unfortunately, that

dream was never fulfilled. On Monday, May 1, 1978, he was playing

racquetball at the Dante Club when he complained of chest pains. He

did not want anyone to call a doctor, and he died later that evening,

probably from a heart attack, a few months shy of his 57th birthday.

According to his obituary in the West Springfield Record, he must have

been quite a busy man: Treasurer of the Westfield Savings Bank, and a

civic and fraternal leader in the community, he was born in

Springfield and lived here most of his life. He was graduated from

West Springfield High School, Class of 1938, and American

International College. He attended the University of Massachusetts in

Amherst and was later graduated from Rutgers-Stonier School of

Banking. Mr. Bond was appointed teller of the Westfield Savings

Bank's West Springfield branch office in 1947 and was named manager of

the branch in 1953. He was elected treasurer of the bank in 1970 and

had 31 years of banking service. Harris Bond had a

lifelong interest in sports and it involved him as participant,

official and observer. When the West Springfield Record started

publishing in 1953, Mr. Bond served as the sports editor covering

everything from bowling to basketball and following the future career

of local sportsmen with his reportage. He had his own sports show on

the former WTXL radio station in town and most recently broadcast

Westfield High School games for WDEW. As a broadcaster, he handled

the play-by-play of the former Springfield Giants AAA professional

baseball team out of Pynchon Park. As a referee, Mr. Bond officiated

at soccer matches, basketball and football, but his first love was

playing. He played softball in the adult league here for many seasons

and most recently took up racquetball. It wasn't long before Mr. Bond

was more than just a proficient player: he advanced to become doubles

champion last year in the senior division of the state. He was deeply

involved in his church St. Louis-de-France, serving most recently as

an extraordinary minister and lector. He voluntarily did all the

bookeeping of St. Louis and was available for any task. He was equally

committed to his town, serving for many years as a town meeting

member. Tuesday night, at the request of Selectman Frederick Conlin,

who described him as "a very loving father and husband and a very

close friend to myself and many others", the town meeting rose for a

moment of silence in his memory. He was a past president of West

Springfield Chamber of Commerce, West Springfield Rotary Club, West

Springfield Club, the American Institute of Banking and the

Massachusetts State Forum. An Air Force veteran of World War II, he

was a member of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and served

on its board of directors. He was a former member of the West

Springfield Board of Appeals and was a former chairman of the High

School Survey Committee. He was a member of the Unity Council,

Knights of Columbus, district committee of the Boy Scouts, Scouts of

America, and was a former chairman of the Boys Works Committee of the

Community YMCA. He was also a trustee of the Eastern States Exposition

and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Western Mass.

Professional Standards Review Organization.

Though Harris attended the University of Massachusetts, he never

graduated. After his first year, his father died, and he had to drop

out of school to take care of his mother. The Rutgers-Stonier School

of Banking was something like a correspondence course that he took

over a few summers.

Regarding the Air Force, at that time, it was not a separate branch of

the military, so it was actually the Army Air Force. Harris was in

navigator training, and was scheduled to finish that in September.

When the Japanese surrendered in August and the war ended, he was told

that he could complete the training and sign up for a three-year tour

of duty in Japan, or he could go home. He chose to go back to the

Springfield area. After the depression and the war, there was a lot

of pent-up demand for appliances, cars, and other goods. Since the

U.S. did not import many goods from foreign countries at that time,

there was no foreign competition, and so the country entered a period

of financial growth. One did not particularly need a college

education to succeed.