Douglass T. Bolling Jr.

Doug Bolling, retired college professor and loving father, father-in-law, and grandfather, passed

away peacefully while surrounded by family at his home on December 21, 2022. A private

service will be held at Tews-Ryan Funeral Home in Homewood, IL on December 30, 2022. A

private burial in Kentucky is set for a later date.

Doug is survived by two loving sons, Elliot and Kevin (Margy) Bolling, four beautiful

grandchildren, Evan (24), Megan (21), Ella (19), and Lucy Bolling (16), and his former wife,

Marilyn Bolling.

Doug was born in Owensboro, KY, in 1930 to Douglass Townshend Bolling, Sr., and Lucy Clay

Ditto Bolling. Doug graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. Upon

graduation he earned a scholarship to the University of Iowa, completing a Master's of Arts and

a PhD in English, where he was mentored by professors from the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

His graduate school tenure was interrupted by a two-year assignment with the United States

Army, starting in 1956. Doug used his 18-month assignment in France as a great learning

opportunity to study the culture of France, absorbing the language, art, music, and architecture,

as he toured French villages and adjacent countries on a VéloSoleX motorbike. After his service,

he paid his own way home so he could enjoy an extra six months abroad.

After his military service, Doug returned to the University of Iowa, where he met and later

married Marilyn Louise Haan of Evanston, IL (m. 1959-1974). They had two sons, Elliot and

Kevin, both born in Murray, KY.

After serving as a graduate assistant at the University of Iowa, Doug started a college teaching

career that spanned the late 1950s to the early 2000s before retiring at the age of 72. He

thoroughly enjoyed his career in academia, where he cherished teaching seminar classes and

conferencing with students about their life goals.

Doug taught at Murray St. (Kentucky), Rockford College (Illinois), Southwest Minnesota State

University, and finally at Illinois College, a Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts college in Jacksonville,

where he served as English Department Chairperson for 24 years. During his tenure, he

broadened the English curriculum by introducing specific courses focusing on African-American

literature, incorporated additional internships, and invited many noted authors to campus.

Through the college's Claridge Lecture series, he welcomed author Tim O'Brien, who spent a

few days on campus lecturing and sitting in on classes. While at Southwest Minnesota State,

Doug founded the journal par rapport , a journal of the humanities. During his career, Doug

published over forty scholarly articles, served as a contributing editor for American Book

Review, and edited the book series Philosophy and Literature.

After retiring from teaching, Doug moved to Flossmoor, IL, a Chicago suburb, to be closer to his

two sons and their families. He enjoyed interacting with his grandchildren about their school

experiences and attending many of their events, from music concerts to sports, often

celebrating these outings with a family meal at the local brewery.

Early in retirement, Doug reconnected with Nancy Burd, a dear college friend from his days at

William and Mary. The two were great companions, spending much time together touring

museums, visiting historical towns, and sharing other common interests.

Retirement also allowed Doug more time to focus on his writing, in particular, poetry. Doug

published well over a hundred poems in various journals and magazines around the world over

the past 20 years. He earned two Pushcart Prize nominations, a Best of Net nomination, and

Poet of the Month ( The Missing Slate journal), among other awards. Earlier in his career, he had

a short story listed as a distinguished story by writer John Updike in his anthology Best

American Short Stories of 1984 . Doug's poetry reflects his many lifelong interests and covers

numerous themes, including injustice, culture, and nature, among others. Though Doug

preferred hard copy journals of the past, many of his poems will live on forever on the internet

as they can be discovered in various online journals. Reluctantly, Doug, in his eighties,

surrendered his old typewriter for an Apple computer to continue his writing.

Doug stayed active in his writing and discussion of literature up until his death. His casual

conversations were filled with wisdom and sprinkled with humorous takes on the meaning of life.

During his recent hospital stay, he responded to a doctor's question with an impromptu seminar

on major American writers and the importance of higher education to an enthralled gathering of

doctors and medical residents in his room.

Doug was passionate about the positive aspects of sports, particularly college athletics, where

he admired the camaraderie of teammates and the genius of innovative coaches. Since

childhood, he was a staunch supporter of the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team,

experiencing all eight of their national championships while often listening to games through the

static of AM radio broadcasts hundreds of miles away.

Doug remained optimistic and curious throughout his life. His vast knowledge on many subjects

and his love of learning and teaching gave him a unique perspective on life. With a smile, he

would often say, "I don't live in reality; I live in a world of ideas." So it goes.

In Lieu of Flowers the family requests those who wish to express sympathy to consider making

a donation to their favorite charity in Doug's name or a donation to Southern Poverty Law

Center, 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104 or Black Earth Institute, P.O. Box 424

Black Earth, WI 53515-0424.