Donald Lee Bolen

Donald Lee Bolen passed in peace Thursday, September 9th, 2021 in Port Townsend, Washington. Don was born March 4, 1944 in Carlsbad, New Mexico to Mildred Estelle McCallum and Walter Jewell Bolen. Devoted husband to Patricia Cummings since 2010, Don was also briefly married to Ruth Roeder. He was preceded in death by wife of 37 years, Sheila Mandell and his sister Juanita Bolen. He is survived by his two daughters, Tracy Bolen Rodriguez of Long Beach, California and Aimee Bolen Sharp of Bend, Oregon. Don also leaves grandsons Jonah Lambert, Fletcher Bolen Sharp, granddaughter Luna Sharp, nieces, Ellen Pledger Wilkinson and Suzanne Pledger Miller and sons-in-law, Patrick Rodriguez and Ryan Sharp. Stepdaughters Katherine Adele Gonsalves of Seattle Washington and Sally Olivia Gonsalves of Austin Texas and his good dog Ipo Bolen. Don’s early life was in New Mexico where his father’s carpentry work took them all over the state, His high school days were in Albuquerque where he was a member of the Rickshaws car club and raced his yellow ‘40 Ford pickup on Route 66. With the Navy in the sixties, Don was stationed in Kingsville, Texas, Memphis and San Diego. He was on the aircraft carrier Kearsarge in the Pacific following the capture of the Pueblo. He lived in Bellevue, Washington for more than thirty years. In later life, he lived between Monterey, California and the Olympic Peninsula, but he could often be found on the island of Maui. His career in telecommunications spanned 25 years with territory all over the US and Canada. In addition to his business travel, Don was an adventurous world explorer, wooden boater, spontaneous road tripper, storyteller, toastmaster, avid golfer, gifted carpenter, live music aficionado and Porsche enthusiast. May the afterlife bring him an open highway, a little red sports car and plenty of ice cream.