Ethelyn Cummings Bond passed away on June 1 after dealing with cancer for over a decade.. She was born in Lubbock, Texas on June 22, 1943, to Frances Walter and Samuel Bonner Cummings. She soon became an attentive big sister to her brother Bobby and sister Jane Ann.
She grew up active in the Girl Scouts and in the Methodist Youth Fellowship at Asbury United Methodist Church in Lubbock. She was the editor of her high school yearbook and a member of the National Honor Society. Following her senior year of high school, she was selected to be a youth delegate to the World Methodist Conference in Oslo, Norway. She went on to study at Texas Tech University, where she majored in sociology. There, she met her future husband, George Doherty Bond. Following their wedding on Sept. 4, 1965, they moved to Dallas, where he enrolled in Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.
The couple lived and traveled throughout the world. They lived in Sri Lanka on several occasions, the first time for a year in 1970-71 when he was doing doctoral research. Ms. Bond moved there with her husband and their infant son, Kevin Doherty.
She gave birth to her second child, Elizabeth Frances, in 1973, and soon the family of four established a life in Evanston. Once her children had reached school-age, Ms. Bond took a job at Northwestern University, beginning as a secretary for two psychology professors and later served as the Department Assistant. She held this position for 15 years before accepting a job as the office manager for a private family foundation based in Evanston.
Over the course of her nearly 50-year involvement at First United Methodist Church, she was involved in almost every aspect of the church—from the Junior Guild committee the Sunday school program, as well as participating in countless Bible study and book groups with friends. She also participated in several service trips with the church, including going twice to Ghana. Just last year, Ms. Bond made the trip of a lifetime to Israel with a group from First Church.
One of her most important contributions to the church and to the Evanston community was her work at the Thursday evening soup kitchen sponsored by the Interfaith Action Council of Evanston and hosted at First United. She directed the soup kitchen for more than 30 years, recruiting volunteers, cooking meals and organizing the other organizations that shared the work.
Ms. Bond is survived by her husband of almost 54 years, George; their son Kevin and his wife Juliet and their three children Jacob, Lilly, and Casey, of Evanston. Also their daughter Elizabeth Mendez and her husband Chris of Edgewater, Colorado, and their two children Mira and Gus. She is also survived by her best friend and sister Jane Ann Dixon and her husband Dan, of Arlington, Virginia, their brother Robert and his wife Donna, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, their children and grandchildren, and numerous beloved cousins and close friends.
She was the center of the Bond family, supporting her family and friends by example and unwavering loyalty. The void she leaves behind is indescribable. The memorial service for Ethelyn is scheduled for Saturday, June 15th 1:00 PM at First United Methodist Church, 516 Church St., Evanston, IL 60201. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First United Methodist Church Soup Kitchen Fund, 516 Church St.., Evanston, IL 60201 (847-864-6181)
Interment private at the church. Arrangements entrusted to Evanston Funeral & Cremation, Roland F. Weis director. Info 847 866-8843, condolence and guestbook at evanstonfuneral.com