Ethel Bondy (1919-2017)

Obstetrics nurse at Mercy Hospital calmed mothers

9/11/2017
BY LAUREN LINDSTROM 
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Ethel Bondy, who was an obstetrics nurse at the former Mercy Hospital for three decades, died Wednesday at Hospice of Northwest Ohio in Perrysburg. She was 97.

She had congestive heart failure but had been in good health until about four months ago and was a three-time cancer survivor, said her daughter Cheryl Marquette.

Bondy
Bondy

Born Dec. 18, 1919, in Toledo, Mrs. Bondy was one of three daughters born to Karl and Lillian Scheidler. Despite the limited career options for women at the time, Mrs. Marquette said her grandfather made sure each of his three girls continued their education after high school.

After graduating from Woodward High School, Mrs. Bondy enrolled in the nursing school at Mercy Hospital. She finished the program and went to work at the hospital, first in the emergency department and then in obstetrics where she spent the rest of her career. She left for a few years to raise her children, but she returned to the job and retired in 1972.

Her mother loved “bringing babies into the world and helping new moms,” Mrs. Marquette said.

As a nurse, Mrs. Bondy was serious and dedicated to her patients, her daughter said. It’s a fact she can attest to personally — Mrs. Bondy assisted in delivering Mrs. Marquette’s two children.

“I wanted my mother there because I knew she would take good care of me,” she said. If a patient was distraught or overwhelmed, her mother could calm them.

She married William Bondy on Dec. 30, 1941, just days before he left to serve in World War II, their wedding moved up to accommodate his orders. The pair met in kindergarten and began dating in high school, their daughter said. He died in December, 2008.

Mrs. Bondy was involved with the Ohio National Guard women’s association to complement her husband’s service in the Ohio National Guard and was active with her daughters’ Brownie and Girl Scout troops, as well as the Parent Teacher Association.

Surviving are daughters Cheryl Marquette and Linda Bondy Parr; sister Ruth Sloan, five grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and a step-great-great-grandchild.

Services will be private. The family suggests tributes to Hospice of Northwest Ohio in Perrysburg or the Toledo Fire Museum. Eggleston Meinert & Pavely Funeral Homes is handling arrangements.

Contact Lauren Lindstrom at llindstrom@theblade.com, 419-724-6154, or on Twitter @lelindstrom.