NGU Supporter George Bomar Dies at 91
Posted on: January 16, 2026
Long-time North Greenville University benefactor and local businessman and civic leader George E. Bomar died January 15 following a major health battle. He was 91.
“George Bomar was an exemplary community servant-leader,” said NGU President Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr. “He loved to invest in the lives of others and faithfully used his gifts as a Christ-follower and business leader to better our community in countless ways.”
Born in 1934 just a short distance from the university’s Tigerville campus, Bomar’s significant support for North Greenville led to naming NGU’s School of Communication in his honor in 2005. The Trailblazer Baseball team’s home venue, George Bomar Family Stadium, is named in recognition of his leadership investment in the project, which was completed in early 2020. In addition to capital support, Bomar and his wife, Dr. Barbara Bomar, endowed the Dr. George Bomar and Dr. Barbara Bomar Endowment Fund in 2007 to provide scholarships for NGU communication students.
Bomar graduated from the University of South Carolina before launching a successful insurance career in the Upstate. The U.S. Navy veteran served as a board member for many area organizations. He was an elected Greenville County Councilman for 12 years, including terms as the council’s chairman. He was the first president of the South Carolina Association of Counties from Greenville County. Bomar also served on the Greenville Technical College board for 28 years. He was awarded the state’s highest honor given to a civilian, the Order of the Palmetto, in 1996.
A lifelong active Baptist, Bomar’s support of NGU began a quarter of a century ago. He served as chair of the Christian Ministry Scholarship Fund board of directors and as a member of NGU’s Council of Advisors. The Bomars have consistently supported the Christian Ministry Scholarship Fund and the Trailblazer Club. NGU bestowed an honorary doctorate on Bomar in 2005. In 2019, the Bomars received the university’s annual Leo Vernon Powell Legacy Award, recognizing “significant impact on NGU through their leadership, inspiration, service, and financial support to NGU and its mission.”
The Bomars, residents of Fountain Inn, were married for 20 years. Bomar and his first wife, Zana Campbell Bomar, were married for nearly 39 years before she died in January 1998. They had four daughters, Donna, Terri, Mary, and Karen.
“He leaves a legacy of love for family,” said President Fant. “It is no coincidence that you can find several public recognitions of George, including NGU’s baseball stadium, include the wording ‘The George Bomar Family.’”
A commemorative wreath has been placed at the entrance of the George E. Bomar School of Communication, in the university’s Jacks and Deborah Tingle Student Center. Plans to provide a new home for the George E. Bomar School of Communication on the Tigerville campus are underway.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to North Greenville University for the George E. Bomar School of Communication Relocation. Online gifts may be made at go.ngu.edu/bomar-school.
