obituaries

Obituaries from page 63

Life According to Sam, which was
broadcast last October on HBO.
The film is on the shortlist for an
Oscar nomination. It was voted
best documentary at the 2013
Boston Jewish Film Festival and
has been screened at Jewish film
festivals across the country.
Robert Kraft, a philanthropist
who supports numerous Jewish
causes and is owner of the New
England Patriots, took a per-
sonal interest in Sam, an avid
sports fan who was scheduled
to serve as honorary captain at
Saturday night's New England
Patriots playoff game. Instead, a
moment of silence was held in
his memory.
"I loved Sam Berns and am
richer for having known him,"
Kraft said in a statement. "He was
a special young man whose inspi-
rational story and positive outlook
on life touched my heart."
In October, prior to the HBO
broadcast, Kraft made a $500,000
matching donation to the Progeria
Research Foundation to further
its hunt for treatment and a cure.
The foundation was started in
1999 by Sam's parents, Leslie
Gordon and Scott Berns, both
doctors, after Sam, then a toddler,
was diagnosed with the condition.
The foundation's research team
made quick progress in isolating
the gene that causes the condition
and has since developed a drug
treatment that has prolonged the
lives of children such as Sam.
Last month, Sam was fea-
tured at a TED (Technology,
Entertainment, Design) talk — a
global set of conferences owned
by the private nonprofit Sapling
Foundation — speaking on "My
Philosophy for a Happy Life."
"Even though there are many
obstacles in my life, I don't want
people to feel bad for me:' he
said there.It was a sentiment that
ran through his life, according to
those who knew him.
Rabbi Harold Kushner lost his
son Aaron to progenia, prompt-
ing him to write the bestselling
book Why Bad Things Happen to
Good People.
In a statement confirming
Sam's death last Friday, the
Progeria Foundation wrote, "The
entire PRF community mourns
the loss of this remarkable young
man who not only inspired PRF's
creation, but also touched mil-
lions of people worldwide."
Condolence messages and
words of admiration for Sam are
filling social media sites.

Steven M. Blondy, 54, of Durham, North Carolina,
passed away peacefully at home with his family by
his side on January 3, 2014, after fighting a valiant
battle that taught many valuable lessons in dignity
and optimism.

Born on October 15, 1959 in Detroit, Michigan,
Steve was a 1977 graduate of Pickering College in
Newmarket, Ontario and received his B.A., magna
cum laude, from the University of Michigan in 1980.
He earned his M.B.A., also from the University of
Michigan in 1982, graduating in the top 1% as the
youngest member of his class. Steve married Mary
Baumunk on July 11, 1987, at Baumunk Lake in
Ellenton, Pennsylvania. Steve and Mary enjoyed
living and raising their family in Sydney and
Melbourne, Australia and Madison, New Jersey
before moving to North Carolina in 2003.
Steve built a distinguished career in global
financing and investment banking with world-class
financial firms. He gained extensive experience
structuring and negotiating multibillion-dollar,
highly profitable transactions that created major
new corporate opportunities for his organizations
and investors.
From 2011 until his death, Steve was President
of East Lane Advisors LLC, a financial consulting
firm assisting Fortune 1000 companies and
institutional investors with competitive strategy,
business and financial planning, due diligence,
cash flow investment return modeling, capital
structure, and M&A integrations. Steve's interest
had recently expanded to a local angel investor
group who provides counseling and mentoring
to early-stage companies in and around North
Carolina's Research Triangle Park.
As Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer at Dex One Corporation (formerly R.H.
Donnelley Corp.) from 2002 to 2011, Steve
transformed the company into the nation's second
largest publisher of print and digital directories
via aggressive industry consolidation and capital
market financings, dramatically enhanced its
financial profile, and negotiated a $10 billion
balance sheet restructuring. In 2010, Business
Leader magazine named Steve as one of the
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Triangle's Top
CFOs.
Prior to Dex One, from 1998 to 2000, Steve was
Senior Vice President/Corporate Development
at Young & Rubicam Inc., responsible for
corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and
development at this leading global marketing and
communications firm.
In previous corporate roles, Steve served as Chief
Financial Officer and managed the international
business for the digital marketing communications
company Poppe Tyson, Inc. (1996-1997). He also
served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer at Grundy Worldwide Limited, managing all
financial affairs for this international producer of
television programs and coordinating its IPO and
sale (1995).

Earlier in his career, Steve worked for Merrill
Lynch's investment banking group in Sydney and
Melbourne, Australia and New York as both a Vice
President and a Director, travelling extensively
throughout Asia Pacific (1988-1994). From 1982 to
1988, Steve worked in the mergers and acquisitions
department at Chase Investment Bank in both New
York and in Sydney, Australia and held positions as
Assistant Treasurer, Vice President, and Director.
Steve was a past co-chair of the Cary Academy
Annual Fund and also served on the Finance
Committee at Temple Beth Or. He was a current
co-chair of the Development Committee on the
Bucknell University Parents Board.
Steve's greatest joy was spending time with
Mary and his beloved children, Joel and Rachael.
As a family they enjoyed travel and outdoor
activities, including golf, kayaking, and downhill,
cross country, and water skiing. Steve was also
a passionate wine collector, an avid reader, and
loved a good tennis match. His family and the many
friends and colleagues whose lives he touched
will always remember his generosity and warmth,
gregarious personality, sparkling wit and humor,
and unfailingly positive outlook.
Steve is survived by his wife, Mary Baumunk
Blondy; his son, Joel Blondy; and daughter, Rachael
Blondy of Durham, NC. Other surviving family
members include: his mother, Carol Galin Blondy
of West Bloomfield, MI; his father, Marshall Blondy
of Northville, MI; his sisters, Susan Blondy Fine of
Chevy Chase, MD and Elizabeth Blondy of Detroit,
MI; his brothers, Mark Blondy and Benjamin
Blondy of Northville, MI and Brian Blondy of Tel
Aviv, Israel and extended family.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a
donation in Steve's memory to either The Preston
Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, DUMC 3624,
Durham, NC 27710, Attn: Ellen Stainback; or to the
Keith "Booker" McLaren Math Fund at Pickering
College. Steve recently established this fund to
honor the teacher who inspired him and made a
significant impact on his life. Donations may be
sent to: FRISBE, 811 N. Karl Johan Ave, Tacoma,
Washington, 98406-1047, indicating Pickering
College, and specifically the McLaren Fund, in
memory of Steve.
Visitation and a funeral service will take
place at The Shunk United Methodist Church in
Shunk, Pennsylvania on January 17-18, 2014.
Calling hours are 5 - 7 p.m. Friday and 11 - 1 p.m.
Saturday. The funeral service will take place at 1:00
followed by burial in the cemetery across the road.
Pepper Funeral Home in Canton, PA is in care of
arrangements. Friends and family will gather at
the Blondy home in Durham, North Carolina in the
Spring to celebrate Steve's life. All are welcome at
both events.

❑

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64 January 16 • 2014

Obituaries

Obituaries on page 66