Thomas F. Bolger (1924 - 2009)

Ancestors

Biography

Thomas Bolger has Irish ancestors.

WW II Veteran

Thomas was born in 1924. He was the son of Thomas Bolger and Grace Doherty. He passed away in 2009.

Husband of Kathryn Nye 1928–2021

Thomas F. Bolger, of McHenry, died Monday, March 16, 2009.

He was born March 11, 1924, the fifth of 10 children, to Thomas A. and Grace Doherty Bolger on an Irish Prairie farm just south of McHenry. After graduating high school at the age of 17, he took a job at McHenry State Bank "until something better came along."

He joined the Army in January 1943, arriving in Liverpool, England, on his 20th birthday. His unit landed in Normandy shortly after the D-Day invasion and was part of the Red Ball Express supporting General Patton's Third Army as it raced east across France. At the conclusion of the war, his unit guarded German officers being tried for war crimes in Luxembourg.

After his discharge from the Army with the rank of Staff Sergeant, he returned to his war-shortened banking career and met his future wife, Kathryn, working in the bookkeeping department of the bank; they married in 1948. He was named President of McHenry State Bank in 1974, a position he held until retirement. In 1980, he was elected the National President of the Independent Bankers Association of America, representing 7,800 banks across 48 states. During his tenure, he testified before committees of both houses of Congress and the Illinois Legislature and was invited to participate in President Carter's White House economic summit. He retired from McHenry State Bank in 1993 after a 52-year career.

As a lifelong resident, he was a passionate supporter of the McHenry community and took on leadership roles in many charitable and civic organizations, including serving as Treasurer of the City of McHenry for 25 years, Charter Treasurer of McHenry County College, and with his wife, Kathryn, served as National Co-Chairman of the Marquette University Parents Association. He also was a member of St Mary's Catholic Church, the American Legion, the VFW, the McHenry Rotary Club, the McHenry Country Club, the Marian Central Parents Club and the Knights of Columbus.

Family was always most important to him.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Kathryn Nye Bolger; his sons, Tom (Lisa) and Dave; his daughters, Cindy (Dan) Schmidt, Mary Ellen (Scott) Stanek, Ann Bolger Cates and Susan (Jeff) Hamar; 10 grandsons, Tom (Karen), Michael (Allison), Christopher (Annie), Danny and Timothy Bolger, Joseph (Laura) Schmidt, Peter and Patrick Stanek and Reynold and Hudson Hamar; two granddaughters, Sarah Schmidt and Kathryn Stanek; and a great-grandson, Thomas Henry Bolger, the seventh generation Thomas Bolger. He also is survived by his brothers, Walter (Madeline) and William (Carol) Bolger; his sisters, Mabel (Richard) Weber, Grace Stilling, Margaret (Richard) Carey, Ann Miller and Rita (Ray) Gaylord; his brothers-in-law, Richard Eastman and Edwin Sullivan; his sisters-in-law, Shirley Nye and Mary Bauer; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and his sisters, Vivian Eastman and Eleanor Sullivan.

The visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 20, at Colonial Funeral Home, 591 Ridgeview Drive, McHenry.

The funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 21, at St. Mary Catholic Church, 1401 N. Richmond Road, McHenry. Interment will be in St. Mary Cemetery in McHenry.

Sources

BURIAL: Saint Marys Catholic Cemetery in McHenry, McHenry County, Illinois

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74731419/thomas-f-bolger