Christopher Robert Bond

A lifelong resident of Newton, Christopher was born February 3, 1955, the fifth child of Waldo and Ruth Bond.

He graduated Newton High School in 1973 and began his 30 year career for the town of Newton Public Works Department in 1978. First hired as a laborer, he was promoted to Foreman in 1986 and then became the Director in 1991. Chris spent many nights away working to clear the snow every winter, leading the DPW through the blizzards of ‘93 and ‘02. He worked as the Director until his retirement in 2008.

After his retirement, Christopher enjoyed helping his wife Jean run their at-home day care and was in charge of “butts and bottles.” He loved making little people laugh and drying tears by telling them to “suck it up buttercup”. He was also fond of saying, “See you round like a donut.”

In his younger and wilder days, Chris enjoyed riding motorcycles around New Jersey with lifelong friends, Roger and Adonna Terwilliger. On one of those rides in 1981, they stopped in the Hampton Pub and Christopher was enchanted by the bartender—his future wife, Jean Cottelli. They were married August 22, 1982.

Christopher was an avid outdoorsman, and his family has many fond memories of enjoying quiet summer days on the lakes of Sussex County and eating the venison he brought home after hunts in the winter. He was particularly fond of deep sea fishing and enjoyed many trips on the Atlantic with close friend Mike Pandiscia. Christopher was a man who enjoyed solitude and those who knew him best knew he possessed a playful sense of humor and loved to tease those that he cared for. He spent much of his time collecting and fixing found objects and rebuilding boats. Many will remember seeing Chris driving around town with one of his dogs at his side (Sam, Kelly, Midnight and Samantha) enjoying the beauty of his hometown. His passion for fishing extended into years of volunteering for the Sussex County PBA’s Small Fry fishing contests, helping usher in generations of young anglers. He was awarded an honorary lifetime membership into the Sussex County P.B.A 138 in 1999. Christopher was also a longtime member of the Newton Moose Lodge 432 and served as an officer from 2014 to 2016 and was Governor in 2015.

Christopher was preceded in death by his parents, Waldo and Ruth Bond; sister, Diane Struble; brother-in-law, Bob Struble; brothers, Ronald and Richard Bond; and his in-laws, Lewis and Lillian Cottelli.

Christopher is survived by his loving wife, Jean; sons, Jeffery and Jake; daughter, Carly and husband Michael; sisters, Eileen Deaver, Kathie (Jim) Land, and Jackie (Al) Bond; sisters-in-law, Nancy Bond, Heidi Bond, Cindy (Ron) Tallent, Lois (Mike) McCluskey, Joanne (Bob) Dzialo; many nieces and nephews; and long time friends, Roger and Adonna Terwilliger, Mike and Debbie Pandiscia.

The Bond family would like to thank the entire team at the Atlantic Medical Oncology Department in Sparta, with extra gratitude to Dr.Cheng for her compassion, determination, and patience in treating Christopher’s cancer. The family would also like to thank Pete Pirmann for taking Chris to many rounds of treatment and being there for the Bond family in more ways than one.

The family will be hosting a Celebration of Life on what would have been his 44th wedding anniversary with Jean, on August 22 from 1-4pm at the Harmony Lodge in Andover. The family wishes that condolences, memories of Christopher, and any questions about the memorial be sent to [email protected]

In lieu of flowers, the Bond family requests donations be made to the Sussex County P.B.A 138 in Christopher's name.