Barbara Evanstock Gombar

Barbara Evanstock Gombar passed away peacefully at her home on Great Island in Narragansett, Rhode Island, on December 23, 2025, at the age of 93, surrounded by family and devoted caregivers. Barbara was born at home on September 27, 1932, on Huron Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the daughter of Matthew Anton Evanstock (originally Matteus Anton Ivanchek) and Veronica E. Machek, both immigrants from Ždiar, Slovakia. She was baptized at Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Bridgeport and graduated from Harding High School in 1951. After working in New York City with her sisters, Barbara married Gordon Gerard Gombar of Bridgeport in September 1955. While Gordon attended Tufts Dental School, Barbara worked for General Electric in downtown Boston, helping support their young family as he also worked for The Boston Globe. The couple settled first in Stratford, Connecticut, and later moved to Trumbull, where they became a founding family of the Canoe Brook Lake neighborhood. There, Barbara helped raise their four children, assisted in her husband’s dental practice as office manager, and was an active member of Christ the King Catholic Church. Committed to lifelong learning, she attended Sacred Heart University part time while raising her family, earning a degree in Sociology in the mid-1980s. She later worked in the Bridgeport public schools as a substitute teacher and then as a special education aide at Staples High School in Westport, where she supported students with significant disabilities until her retirement. Following retirement, Barbara moved to Narragansett, Rhode Island. She volunteered at South County Hospital’s café and gift shop, sang in the choir at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea, and found daily joy walking the beaches of Point Judith and watching the sun set over the fishing village of Galilee. Barbara had a lifelong love of music and community. She sang in choirs and hosted lively bluegrass and folk music gatherings in her Trumbull home. She was adventurous and athletic, enjoying cross-country skiing in Stowe, Vermont, ice skating on Canoe Brook Lake, and hiking throughout New England and the Rocky Mountains well into her sixties. A devoted reader, she had a particular passion for Sherlock Holmes, which culminated in a treasured trip to London. She was also a loyal New York Yankees fan, following the team from the era of Joe DiMaggio through that of Aaron Judge. Barbara was predeceased by her husband, Dr. Gordon Gerard Gombar, and by her siblings, Fr. Matthew Evanstock, Catherine Martinez, and Mary Rassias. She is survived by her sister Cecelia Hanes of Tucson, Arizona, and her brother Fr. Phillip Evanstock of Avondale, Arizona. She was the beloved mother of four children: Rosemary Gombar Stutz (James) of Trumbull, Connecticut; Christina Gombar (Peter Leviten) of Providence, Rhode Island; Monica Williamson Engler (Kurt) of Woodland Park, Colorado; and Kurt Damion Methodius Gombar (Elizabeth Adams Marcus). She was a proud grandmother of Eric Stutz, Victoria Stutz, Jon Williamson, and Cassandra Marcus, and a loving aunt to Helene Miles, Veronica Markwood, Athos Rassias, and Richard Gombar. She was deeply devoted to her extended family of grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews. A celebration of Barbara’s life will be held in Narragansett, Rhode Island, in the summer of 2026.