7 Sep 1927 - 18 Mar 2011
Died in Scarborough, ME
Interment: Ashes to be scattered in the Pacific Ocean off Monterey, CA
REGINALD THOMAS LOMBARD JR., 83, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired), died peacefully in his sleep on March 18, 2011, in Scarborough.
He was born on Labor Day, Sept. 7, 1927, at the State Street Hospital in Portland , the son of Dr. Reginald T. Lombard, and Dorothy Jewett Lombard.
Reg graduated from South Portland High School (Class of 1944). He then entered Bowdoin College (Class of 1948) at age 16. Following Bowdoin, he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (Class of 1950). At Bowdoin, he was a member of Zeta Psi fraternity. He was a past President of the Maine Antiquarian Bookseller's Association and a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America.
Reg immensely enjoyed horseback riding and was the Maine State Grand Champion in horsemanship at the age of 12. He attended the Lipizzaner Riding School in Salzburg , Austria and the French Riding School in Paris. He rode until the age of 83 and loved it.
Reg was devoted to the performing arts, producing, directing, and acting in classic and musical theater. During his Bowdoin and West Point days, one could often find Reg playing the organ and pealing the bells in the chapels, and entertaining requests from up and down the Hudson River. In recent years, Reg played the piano for Piper Shores residents, friends and family.
While he took a break from his musical endeavors, Reg loved reading, world travel and was fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, and German.
Colonel Lombard's military career spanned 34 years, including 12 overseas. He was a Combat Infantry Officer and a master paratrooper. He served in Korea , Vietnam (First Air Cavalry Div.), Thailand , Cambodia , Egypt , France , Germany , Italy , Spain , and Austria. In Cambodia , he supervised the successful American evacuation of Phnom Penh , two weeks before the fall of Saigon. In Egypt , he was one of the founders of the Sinai Peace Keeping Force.
Career highlights include organizing the ninth Conference of the American Armies and graduating from the French Army War College (Ecole Superieure de Guerre) where he earned the coveted French Army paratrooper's badge. Colonel Lombard completed his career as Dean of the National War College in Washington , D.C. for five years. His military awards include three Legions of Merit, the Bronze Star for Valor, five Air medals, and the Department of Defense Superior Service and two Army Commendation medals.
After retiring from the military, Reg and his wife, Sally, converted their hobby of collecting rare maps and prints into a successful business. They traveled coast to coast exhibiting at major antique shows and Antiquarian book fairs for 18 years.
Reg was predeceased by his parents. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Sally Cronk Lombard; a son, Terry Lombard and wife Cheryl, a daughter, Kristen Lombard and husband Bill Barry ; grandchildren, Jack Lombard and wife Sadie, Will Lombard and wife Caroline, Shawn Warren, and Anna Lombard and husband Jason McGeachey; and two great-grandchildren, Quentin Lombard and Haisel McGeachey. He is also survived by his sister, Deborah Lombard Brett.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 26, at 2 p.m., at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Rd., South Portland.