Lucian George Bonar, of Cobourg, Ontario, died peacefully on January 16, 2021, at Golden Plough Lodge.
Born in 1934 in Łódź, Poland, young Lucian’s life was shaped by the invasion of Poland and his family’s eighteen-month odyssey through ten countries to Canada, where they settled in Toronto, and he took George as his name.
After George was graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree, he proceeded to the University of California at Berkeley to complete his Master of Science in Metallurgy and to Cambridge University, Pembroke College, in England, where he completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Metallurgical Engineering, defending his doctoral thesis entitled “Precipitation Hardening.”
While at Cambridge, George courted Stephanie Leonard of Toronto and they were married in Toronto on his birthday in June 1963.
George’s career started at Falconbridge Nickel in Toronto. In 1972, he and his family relocated to Greenwich, Connecticut where he ran international sales at Amax Nickel. He returned to Canada in 1981 as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Falconbridge. At Eldorado, the largest producer of uranium in the world, he was Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.
In the 1990s, as the Soviet bloc disintegrated after the fall of the Berlin Wall, George raised capital for investment in Poland, and relocated with Stephanie to London and Warsaw, where he built and led International UNP Holdings to privatize and modernize former state-owned enterprises.
George was accomplished in racquet sports, ranked second nationally in junior badminton, and played squash and tennis throughout his life. He loved going to theatre and opera with his family and friends. An insatiable intellect, his greatest pastime was reading history and engaging in discussions of all kinds. He traveled extensively, both for business and pleasure, welcoming the opportunities for personal enrichment, and he never failed to send postcards to his children from all over the world, penning each with a short lesson about the location. His global mindset persisted long after retirement when he supported microlending in developing countries. He retired in Cobourg, Ontario, where he volunteered as a board member for the Art Gallery of Northumberland and the new Northumberland Hills Hospital.
Predeceased by his parents Henryk and Janina, George leaves his beloved wife of 58 years, Stephanie (née Leonard), son Justin (Stacey Daveluy), daughter Daphne (Ian Giggal), grandchildren, Ian McCulloch, George Bonar, Annabel Bonar, and Justin Galullo, sister Wanda O’Hagan (Richard), a nephew and two nieces.
The family would like to thank the staff of the Golden Plough Lodge for the care they provided George in his final year. In lieu of flowers, condolences can be sent to the family, or donations can be made to microlending site Kiva.org/donate in George’s name.
2021
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Lucian George
Bonar 2021..
Décès pour la Ville:Cobourg, Province: Ontario