Colleen (Egleston) Bonde

Colleen Egleston Bonde, of Medfield, passed away peacefully at home on May 15 with her loving family by her side. Colleen departed at the young age of 61 after quietly and remarkably fighting brain cancer for nearly nine years.

Colleen was the first child born to Margaret and William Egleston in Cambridge, Massachusetts on November 27, 1964. From a young age, Colleen loved to read, enjoyed trips to Cape Cod with her grandmother and aunts, and especially loved being a big sister. Her love of literature and travel continued into her adulthood, where she organized family trips to Disney and fell in love with the tea shops, book stores, and museums of London and Paris.

After graduating from Boston College in 1986 with degrees in English and Elementary Education, she headed south for graduate school at the University of Virginia where she earned her Master of Education in Speech-Language Pathology. At UVA she would also fall in love with another New Englander and fellow graduate student, Allen Bonde, whom she married in 1991 at Our Lady’s Church in her hometown of Waltham, Massachusetts.

As an Early Intervention speech therapist for much of her career, Colleen always adored children, and becoming a mother herself was the great joy of her life. She and Allen welcomed their son Nat in the Fall of 1994, followed by their daughters Sarah in 1996 and Caroline in 2000. Colleen went above and beyond to make their childhood magical – sewing incredible costumes, leading Girl Scout troops, organizing sports carpools and everything in between. Her joy was seeing them grow up into wonderful adults, surrounded by great friends and loved ones.

Colleen is survived by her best friend and spouse of thirty-five years, Allen Bonde; her children, Nat, Sarah, and Caroline; her loving parents, her sisters Julie Borrelli and Erin Giovanello and their families, her sisters-in-law Mara Bonde Ricker and Lisa Bonde Grogan and their families, and her mother-in-law Maria Kushmerick Bonde.

Family and friends will honor and remember Colleen’s life by gathering for a Morning Wake in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20),Waltham on Friday, May 22nd from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. before leaving in procession to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church, 880 Trapelo Road,Waltham where her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Burial will be private.

Memorial donations may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Ave. Boston, MA 02215 or at https://www.dana-farber.org/.