Tona Dodd Bronder

Tona was born November 30, 1926, in Fort Worth, TX, to Benjamin F Dodd and Joyce Gregory Dodd. Her birth name was Helen, but she decided she wanted a more original name, and changed her name to Tona.

As a child, she studied acting, violin, and tap dancing.

She left Texas at the age of 16, leaving for New York City to become an actress. After four years, she briefly returned to Texas , then moved to Los Angeles to further pursue a career in acting. She acted on the stage in local community theater, later taking onstage roles in Hollywood, along with some television and movie roles. She was a proud member of SAG-AFTRA.

She raised three children with Joseph Hoisington, then married an actor, William Bronder, on June 12, 1964. They were married 51 years, until his death in 2015.

Along with acting, Tona had many interests and hobbies. She traveled to Asia and India, which instilled in her an interest in Indian, Chinese and Japanese cooking. She took Japanese language classes and Bonsai classes. Her greatest interest was her pets, and over the years, she had several dogs and cats, along with a turtle and birds.

Tona is survived by her son, Gary Bergantino (Pam); daughters, Rhonda Pimentel and Crystal Govea (Ernest); stepdaughters, Colleen Bronder, Joan Kownacki (John), Jean Andrews (Mike), and Tonia Zinninger; grandchildren, Richard Hernandez (Danielle), Gary Hernandez (Danielle), Laura Bergantino, Melissa Govea Von-Velasco (Matthew), Jennifer Govea; numerous great-grandchildren; brother, James W Dodd (Virginia); sister, Carolyn Casterline; brother-in-law, Charles Sr. (Suzanne); and sister-in-law, Patricia (Frank).

She was pre-deceased in death by her husband, William F Bronder, and son-in-law, Gary Pimentel.

A memorial service will be held 11:00 AM, July 21, at Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, CA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the donor’s choice of charity for pets.