J. Richard Bolger

Joseph Richard “Dick” Bolger, 96, of Palatine, IL and formerly of Merrick, NY, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, January 30, 2015.

Born July 4, 1918, in Martinsburg, PA, he was the son of the late Anna (nee Bridenbaugh) and William Harold Bolger. He married the late Kathleen Bolger (nee Garis) of Reading, PA, on June 19, 1954.

Dick graduated from Martinsburg High School in 1936, and taught piano privately to 40 students in and around Altoona, PA. He served as the organist at St John United Church of Christ in Martinsburg, PA from the age of 16 until 1943. A WWII veteran, he served in the Army Air Corps, stationed in Waycross, GA.

He was a 1949 graduate from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA with a BS in Music Education and a specialty in piano. He went on to receive a Masters in Music Education with a specialty in organ performance from Columbia Teachers College, New York, NY, in 1953 and a certificate from the Orff-Institute at the University Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria, in 1973.

Dick taught elementary general music in the Laurel, DE schools from 1949-1954, vocal music at Jerusalem Avenue Junior High in Bellmore, NY from 1954-1961, and elementary music in the Great Neck, NY school district from 1961 until his retirement in 1979.

Dick served as organist and choir director for 16 years at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Merrick, NY.

After having lost his eyesight in 1979, Dick provided piano accompaniment in the music therapy classes at The United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County, NY, always guided by a dog from the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind in Smithtown, NY. He regularly spoke to elementary-aged students about blindness and advised on how sighted people could best interact with the blind and their service dogs.

Dick relocated to Palatine, IL in 2010 where he enjoyed attending the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, St. Paul United Church of Christ, visiting family, baking cookies and dinner rolls, and playing piano.

He is survived by his children, Sally (Eugene) Mason of Islip, New York, and Kathleen Bolger, of Palatine, IL; a sister, Virginia Smith of Richfield, OH; and grandchildren, Travis and Stacie Mason of Islip, NY.

In addition to his wife, Kathleen, he was preceded in death by his brother, William Bolger.

Visitation will be Sunday, February 1, from 1:30 p.m. until the time of funeral service at 3:00 p.m., at St. Paul United Church of Christ, 401 E. Main St. (Lake-Cook Road), Barrington. Burial will take place in Charles Evans Cemetery, Reading, PA.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in Dick’s name may be made to the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc., 371 East Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown, NY 11787-2976, or to St. John’s Lutheran Church, 1 Van Roo Avenue, Merrick, NY 11566.

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