C Philip Bolin

C Philip Bolin was 90 years old when he passed away on March 22nd. He lived a Life of Love and Joy leaving behind his life partner, DeJuana Jones, two children, Kevin Bolin and Karen Slomba, and one grandchild, Amanda Bolin. He also had a rich community of family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and the community at Good Shephard Catholic Church.

Phil was born in Mansfield, Ohio in 1932, to Roger and Gertrude Bolin. He was like most kids - loved baseball, playing outside, his mother’s cooking, and he admired his parents. He had two younger sisters, Julia (Grimm) and Kathleen (McKee). School was never his favorite until he got to Mansfield High School where he thrived. In high school he enjoyed sports and drama. He was the Class President for three years and was accepted to the University of Notre Dame.

At Notre Dame, a strong foundation for his faith was laid. He immersed himself in the college experience receiving a BA in Journalism and graduating in 1954. During that time, he made life-long friends and saw Notre Dame football at its height. For the rest of his life, he would often whistle the Notre Dame fight song as he shaved. Phil joined the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant after graduation and served two years in South Korea. He was very proud of his service.

After an honorable discharge, Phil moved to New York City and worked on Madison Avenue in advertising where he met Dawn Dickinson and married in 1962. Within 4 years Kevin and Karen were born. He adored his family and his children. They played in Central Park, and he instilled in them that they were loved which gave them confidence to this day.

Years passed, including a move to Ridgewood, New Jersey, several job changes, the kids growing up to teenagers, and Phil becoming a strong pillar in his community. As with life, Phil saw tragedy when his mother passed away and his marriage ended. Phil, devasted by these events, ultimately concentrated on the positive, moved the family to Alexandria, Virginia in 1978 to be closer to his family, and focused on being a single parent and self-healing. He had dinner ready for the kids every night, he became a good neighbor, he expanded his friend group, stayed very close with family, and joined Good Shephard.

By 1985, the kids had left the home and he was confronted with an empty nest. For the next three decades Phil increased his involvement in the Church, including leadership roles, ramped up his family involvement by staying active in his children’s lives, including welcoming his granddaughter in 2000 and becoming that ever-present uncle for many nieces and nephews. He practiced his faith, he was disciplined, he loved, he was patient, he was kind. He made time for friends and grew those relationships, watched Notre Dame football, walked 6 miles a day, was an avid reader and student of English history, ate healthy, dined out, and dressed well. He even kept working until the age of 89 when he hit his 50th anniversary with Halo Branded Solutions, formerly Shaw-Barton. Most people who knew him, coveted a Shaw-Barton pen with his name on it.

In 2018, Phil met DeJuana Jones, the love of his life. He was a sprite 86 years old and the two cherished their time together, merging their very rich lives of love and joy.

So many beautiful characteristics embodied Phil’s life: He is beloved by a host of his adoring family, classmates from high school and college, including those who are here today and those who are not with us, also friends and neighbors and their adoring children. His life was polished by suffering, yet he rose above like the proverbial Phoenix, to become a larger person who could acknowledge, surrender to, and ultimately grow from pain. He spoke words of encouragement, sought the positive, radiated joy and peace at every opportunity, all anchored in his faith. Learning, loving, gratitude and sharing were the essence of his life. He cherished friendship, inspiring and showing the way forward by his own example. His loving kindness was a gift to all who knew him. We will miss him always, but we know he abides in our hearts forever.