Bolen, Donald E. 1925-1992

BOLEN, GRAHAM, ZIMMERMAN, WILLIAMS, PECH, SMALLEY

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 2/23/2010 at 12:58:50

The Grinnell Herald-Register (Grinnell, Iowa) Aug. 6, 1992

DONALD BOLEN

Donald E. Bolen, 66, of Houston, Texas, formerly of the Grinnell area, died of a stroke Monday, Aug. 3, at his home.

Funeral services will be conducted at 1 p.m. Friday at the Grinnell Christian Church, with the Rev. Rich Milliken officiating. Music will be presented by organist Marlene Toney, pianist Lorna Lang and vocalists Roger Kendall and Susan Williams. Pallbearers will be Gordon Abel, John Abel, Ben Bolen, David Bolen, Loren Burnell, and Paul Smalley.

Burial will be in Brooklyn Cemetery, with the Smith Funeral Home of Grinnell in charge of arrangements.

He was the son of Verner and Carrie Graham Bolen and was born Oct. 19, 1925, near Malcom. He was raised on the family farm and attended rural school. He graduated from Grinnell High School in 1942 and served with the U.S. Navy's V-12 program during World War II.

In 1947 he graduated from Drake University with a major in fine arts. He also studied art at Frances Shimer College in Illinois, in Taos, N.M., and in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Mr. Bolen lived in Lake Geneva, Wis., where he designed sets and costumes for the Belfry Players. He also worked for various acting companies in the Chicago area and taught art at Loyola University.

He was married to Joan Zimmerman in Gary, Ind. The family moved to Texas in 1954 where Mr. Bolen became a well-known artist for his original designs in commercial and residential interior decoration. While living in Houston he was a member of the Houston Christian Church and the church's choir.

He is survived by his mother, Carrie Bolen of Grinnell; one daughter, Susan Williams of Chicago; two grandchildren; one brother, Bruce of Tama; and two sisters, Dora Pech of Peoria, Ariz., and Ann Smalley of Elmhurst, Ill.

He was preceded in death by his father.