Eugene O. Kollar

Eugene O. Kollar , died on July 8, 2005, of complications from emphysema which he had battled for the past 15 years. He was born in South Bend on February 25, 1923, from the marriage of Ray M. and Fern L. (Reynolds) Kollar . His father died in 1937 and his mother in 1979. He had one infant brother who died shortly after birth in 1936 and a sister, LaVerne Pearson who died in 1995. 

He is survived by two daughters, Kathy Kollar and Lauri Sierens, both of Mishawaka; and one son, Tom Kollar from Orlando, Florida. A second son, Mike Kollar , died in October of 2000. He also leaves seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Mr. Kollar grew up in South Bend and attended the old Studebaker School and Riley High School, graduating in 1941. Shortly thereafter, he gained employment at the old South Bend Lathe Works and the Studebaker Plant on South Chippewa.

In the summer of 1942, he decided on a future in California, but soon found that shortages of automobiles, gasoline, tires and other vitals, as well as the United States' entry into the second world war, might be causes of concern, so he returned to South Bend. On January 19, 1943, he was inducted into the Army and was sent to Camp Perry, Ohio which followed transfers to Camp Robinson, Arkansas and Camp Bowie, Texas. After receiving military police training, he left on the Queen Mary, heading to Europe where he received further training in England prior to a Day 3 landing on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. He went through the Conflict and was near Berlin when the war ended. He was discharged at Camp Atterbury, Indiana on Christmas day, 1945.

In 1957, he entered the real estate and appraising business. He retired from Davis Realty in 1993. He was a member of Gospel Center Missionary Church and was a lifetime member of the Mishawaka Lions Club.

Friends may call at the Bubb Funeral Chapel North, 3910 North Main Street, Mishawaka on Sunday from 2 until 5 p.m., and one hour prior to the services at 1:00 p.m. Monday. Officiating the services will be Rev. Don Francis of the Gospel Center Missionary Church, South Bend. Burial will follow the services at Southlawn Cemetery, South Bend.
Published in the South Bend Tribune; July 9, 2005.

Sources: Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.com

11/25/2023 EJS