Carl “Bubsy” Louis Bolden Jr., 72, died peacefully in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, at the Lodge on the Comforts of Home campus in River Falls, Wisconsin.
Carl was born Feb. 16, 1948 in Watertown, South Dakota, the second child of Carl Sr. and Opal (Smock) Bolden. By the time his fourth sibling was born, the family lived in Hibbing, Minnesota, where Bubsy attended Cobb-Cook Elementary School. Just before he began high school, the family moved “south” in the state, where Bubsy attended Northfield High School. He also served in the U.S. Army from 1969-71, including some time in Germany.
As a young man, Carl developed his passion of “tinkering,” starting with working on cars at his father’s business in Dennison, Minnesota: Carl’s Repair Shop. His various jobs throughout the years involved fixing or driving things – mechanic, handyman, woodworking, etc. His “spare time,” even after suffering a stroke in 2002, was spent much the same way, also adding in outdoor activities – working on stock and demo derby cars, camping, fishing, boating and off-roading in something he built or modified. He would often stop to help people on the side of the road with broken down cars.
Carl was preceded in death by his parents, Carl Sr. and Opal Bolden-Mackey, and sister-in-law Rosie Bolden.
Carl is survived by daughter Tammi (Tim) Anderson, son John (Michele DeLong) Bolden and granddaughters Amanda Bolden and Mackenzie Anderson, all of Hammond, Wis.; brothers Steve (Jackie) of Holly Lake Ranch, Texas and Jerry of Hibbing, Minn.; sisters Ellen (Howard) Barker of Hibbing, Minn. and Neva Bolden of Mosinee, Wis.; and extended family of nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles and cousins throughout the United States with concentrations on the Iron Range in Minnesota and the state of Washington.
Private family services will be held. A Gathering of Family and Friends will take place 1:00 – 3:00 PM Sunday, January 17, 2021 (masks and social distancing required) at the O’Connell-Benedict Funeral Home, 225 S. 3rd St., River Falls. Military honors will follow at 3:00 PM performed by the River Falls Fletcher-Pechacek American Legion, Post 121.
The Bolden family extends a special thanks to the staff at Comforts of Home and Adoray Hospice for their exceptional and loving care of Carl. In remembrance of Carl, memorials are preferred to Adoray Hospice.
Funeral services have been entrusted to the O’Connell-Benedict Family Funeral Home of River Falls (715) 425-5644. www.oconnellfuneralservices.com
