David "Dave" Stanley Bolton
He was the beloved son of the late Alice (Murphy) Bolton and Henry (Bud) Bolton. David was the loving husband of Lynn (Rogerson) Bolton, of Port Loring and Sudbury. He was a caring and proud father to Kara Lynn Bolton (Jason Haddow) of Lively, and Aaron Bolton (Wendy) of Kelowna, BC.
David was a proud grandfather to Devon Robert Bolton of Kelowna, BC. Brother of Marjory Davis (Phil) of Powassan, Catherine Tester (Raymond) of Powassan, Roger Bolton (Brenda) of Powassan, Barbara Brooks (the late Alvin) of Callander, Maureen Thornborrow (Gregg) of South River, Bruce Bolton (Jane) of South River, and Kevin Bolton of Sundridge. He will be lovingly remembered by many nieces, nephews, and friends.
David was the eldest of eight children and spent his childhood on a small farm in the village of Golden Valley. Life was busy and full of activity, with many friends and the neighbouring Moore’s being a significant part of his early years. He attended public school in Golden Valley before moving on to Argyle Continuation School in Port Loring. After completing high school, David began his career in Toronto as a plumbing apprentice. After some time, he realized he didn’t like the city life, so moved north and spent the winter working with his Dad, in his logging operation. As Dave could talk and sell himself to anybody, he found himself in North Bay selling Olivetti office equipment and then institutional foods. Around this time, he found himself in new territory with a local girl from Port Loring. After a whirlwind courtship, Dave and Lynn were married on January 31, 1970 and it was rumored “it won’t last”. At the end of this January, Dave and Lynn would have celebrated 56 years together.
After getting married, they moved to Sault Ste Marie where Dave got serious about his career and joined Avco Financial Services where he worked for seven years. Dave made a name for himself in the financial industry and found several banks offering him jobs. After being flown to Toronto for an interview, he became an employee of the Toronto Dominion Bank. He was hired for November 1st, worked for 5 days and then took a week off for the deer hunt. He must have been good at his job, because he worked for TD for 24 years. From Sault Ste Marie, we moved to Barrie for 3 years and then Dave got his first branch in Walkerton where we enjoyed small town living and made many wonderful friends. In 1986 Dave transferred to Sudbury where he continued his career and eventually became a District Manager in the north. Dave and Lynn were avid snowmobilers and put many miles on each winter.
Dave was also very involved in the Nickel Belt Snow Spirits Snowmobile Club and the Sudbury Trail plan where he held many executive positions and spend hours on trail work and running the groomer. Dave was an active volunteer in each community, however, his years with the snowmobile industry were his most rewarding. Lynn loved to travel and eventually convinced Dave that the only thing to spend money on that will make you richer is….travel. They enjoyed many adventures, the first being to New Zealand and Australia. Then there were cruises in the Mediterranean and the Baltic and road trips through Europe. Dave’s all-time favourite was the road trip to Alaska where they ended up at Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean. There were more travels through the US and out west to visit family. One of their last adventures took them to Gothenburg Sweden to watch the Worlds Junior Hockey Tournament.
Although Dave loved to learn about different cultures and countries through travel, his heart always belonged in the woods. From an early age, Dave was a hunter and fisherman. He loved his walks partridge hunting and of course deer and moose hunting at the family hunt camp on May Lake. He also enjoyed family Thanksgivings at the camp and snowmobiling and fishing trips there with friends and family. The last few years, his joy was watching the nieces and nephews come in to the camp to carry on his Dad’s legacy. After moving to Sudbury, Dave was invited to join a group of fisherman in Biscotasing. A tradition that lasted almost 40 years. He loved to share his favourite fishing holes and welcomed many friends and family join him.
Dave’s proudest accomplishments were his children, Kara and Aaron who grew up to be happy, successful and caring adults. He cherished his role as a grandfather to Devon and applauded his efforts while completing his commercial pilots qualifications. Dave loved being married and Lynn and him grew closer with every year. In their retirement, they spent many hours playing Cribbage, being with friends and family, and planning for their future. Dave took every opportunity he could to tell his family how much he loved and respected them, especially in his last years.
A Celebration of Life will take place Saturday, January 17, 2026 at the Port Loring Legion between 1-4pm. It was Dave’s wish for donations to be made to Argyle Volunteer Fire Brigade, Port Loring or Scleroderma Canada (https://trellis.org/davebolton)