William C. Bolton, age 74, of Western Springs, IL peacefully went home to God after his 12-year battle with cancer on the evening of October 2nd, 2020. He was born August 14th, 1946 in Manhattan, New York to David and Audrey (Conroy) Bolton. He later moved to Arizona and finally settled in Illinois. William proudly served in the United States Army from 1966-1969 and was a Veteran of the Vietnam War in which he received multiple Commendations. He went on to work for Electro-Motive, a division of General Motors, for 35 loyal years where he had perfect attendance and never took a day off. Retirement was short lived as he went on to work part-time for Manheim Auto Auctions. William was a devout and active member of the St. Cletus Church as a lector as well as a member of their choir. He was part of the Holy Name Society and participated in numerous charity events including Thanksgiving Turkey Give-Away, pancake breakfasts, St. Cletus Garage Sale and countless others. William was an avid Chicago Cubs fan and made sure anyone he encountered knew it whether it was by his Cub’s hat or Cub’s slippers that he loved to wear everywhere or by him complaining about the current year’s team and management. He is known for his incredible love for his family and friends. He was extremely outgoing and always the life of the party. William had a great sense of humor and had an uncanny ability to make those around him laugh. He could become friends with anyone he encountered and was known at the local Shell gas station as “Mr. Bill”.
He was the beloved husband of Paulette (nee Whalen); father of Rob (Anita) Bolton, Laura (David) Mikolaczek, and Sean Bolton; step-father to Noelle Aversano, Erin Flesch, and Patrick Bolton; grandfather of Cooper Bolton, Jennifer & Ben Mikolaczek, and Isaiah Flesch; brother of Peter Bolton and the late Barbara Gimbel; former spouse of Mary Bolton.
We are confident that he is “Flying the W” in his heavenly home.
Visitation will be 4 to 8pm Wednesday, Oct. 14 at Hallowell & James Funeral Home, 1025 W. 55th St., Countryside. Group limit and social distancing measures are in place. Masks required. Funeral Prayers 9:30am Thursday, Oct. 15 from the funeral home to St. Cletus Church, LaGrange. Mass 10am.
All attendees must pre-register for Mass at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4DA9AB2CA6FECE9-william1. Interment at Abraham Lincoln Cemetery is scheduled for 1pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations given to St. Cletus Church or the Mary Knoll Missionaries are appreciated. Funeral Info: 708-352-6500
Bill was a fun-loving, dedicated family man. Through the years I thoroughly enjoyed the visits at the annual Family Reunions and the always present ball games. Bill always had a smile on his face and couldn’t get enough of the Cubs – he must have gone crazy when the Cubs finally won it all. I’ll definitely miss his smile and sense of humor. My condolences to Paulette and the rest of the family. We lost a great man way to early.
Paulette, Noelle, Erin, Patrick and Sean:
Our love and prayers are with you. Bill was such a beloved member of our family. We won’t be able to attend the funeral, but will be there in spirit.