Douglas P. Boldon, M.D.

From the Boldon Family...

Please join us for a Celebration of Life in honor of Doug Boldon on September 18, 2022 from 1-4 PM at the Granville Inn in Granville, Ohio. Light food & drink will be served. At 2pm Marilyn and the daughters will speak; then it will be open for anyone who wishes to share stories or reminiscences. There will be a live-stream for anyone unable to join. Login details will be posted on Doug’s CaringBridge site before the event:  https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/dougboldon

For Doug's Lake Erie friends and family, we will have an informal boating event on September 16, 2022. Please check the Caring Bridge site for those details as well.

We are so grateful for the outpourings of love we have received. We hope you can join us, in person or online.
Granville Inn
314 East Broadway
Granville, Ohio 43023
1-4 PM September 18, 2022

Douglas Phillip Boldon, M.D. died on Thursday June 16, 2022 at the age of 79 in the Hospice unit at Licking Memorial Hospital, surrounded by his family. He had a glioma (brain tumor), diagnosed in December 2018. The effects of treatment prompted a slow decline, which necessitated a move to Middleton Senior Living in 2019. The decline went from slow to fast the Friday before his death.

Doug was born April 21, 1943 to Bruce Byron Boldon and Ruth Kathleen (Tucker) Boldon in Taft, California, where his father was stationed with the United States Army. He was the youngest of five children prior to his parents adopting four children from Korea. The family farmed and moved frequently, to Arkansas then northern Ohio. Doug graduated in 1960 from Mogadore High School, where he started the golf team and lettered in that sport. The principal recommended him for a scholarship, which enabled him to attend The University of Akron. A local physician recommended him at Akron City Hospital, where he lied about his age to work the night shift in the clinical laboratory, and where he met Marilyn Daley, a student in The Akron City Hospital School of Medical Technology. The two married on August 10, 1963, and he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1964.

Doug attended medical school at The Ohio State University in Columbus, and was a member of Alpha Nu medical fraternity. During his senior year, he did a student internship with Dr. Charles E. Miller, who went on to found Midwest Allergy Associates in Worthington. The couple’s first child was born and he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1968. 

Doug served in the United States Navy aboard a Benjamin Franklin–class submarine, the USS George C. Marshall out of Groton, CT. He interned at Akron City Hospital, where their second child was born in 1970. He did his pediatric residency at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, MD, where their third child was born in 1972. The family moved to Guam for 2 years, where he was Chief of Pediatrics at the U.S. Naval Hospital. 

Having achieved the rank of LCDR, Doug resigned his commission and returned to the U.S., completing a fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at The Medical College of Virginia, Richmond in 1976. He was a diplomate in The American College and The American Academy of Pediatrics and The American College and The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. In November of 1976, he presented a paper at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Chicago documenting a study he and his associates had done on an aerosol of triamcinolone acetonide, significant as an alternative to the ingestion of oral steroids with their resultant side effects. He picked his specialty for its regular hours so he could spend time with family. He returned to Ohio to join Midwest Allergy Associates in Worthington and volunteered at the Children’s Hospital Allergy Clinic, and Neighborhood House in Columbus. He loved seeing patients, especially pediatric ones, and was always interested in people’s lives. Many patients remained in touch and he saw subsequent generations as patients, too. Doug saw the value of bringing the practice to the patients, establishing satellite offices throughout central Ohio. A left hander, he used a series of fountain pens and blue ink. His handwriting was praised by his staff as mostly legible. 

The family moved to Granville, OH in 1978, joining St. Luke’s Church - Episcopal, where Doug served in many key roles, including the finance, worship, and education committees, lector, intercessor, chalicist, usher, treasurer, Vestry member, Junior and Senior Warden, and chair of a Capital Campaign Committee. He loved to coordinate the Palm Sunday breakfasts and enjoyed time with the book group. 

Doug was a long-time member of the Tuesday golf league at Moundbuilders Country Club in Newark and in 1987, played in the Pro-Am with Payne Stewart at Muirfield Village Golf Club - a highlight of his golfing years. The friends that he golfed with over the years were as or more important to Doug than the game of golf, itself.  

Doug was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Granville, serving on the scholarship committee and as president. Kiwanis was one of Doug’s outlets for his deeply held value of service to community. He collected and transported sap for maple syrup and the club’s annual pancake day fundraiser. He loved so many aspects of the Granville Kiwanis Fourth of July street fair, where he was on the parade’s announcing team for many years. 

A member of The Ohio State University President’s Club, he was a loyal Buckeye fan, hosting an annual party for the OSU/Michigan game for many years. 

Doug was never without a camera. He trained his lens on friends, family members, birds, flowers, and places he visited. His home and medical offices were filled with his photos, in one of which, a patient was delighted to recognize her father’s fish market in Taipei. His travels included Hong Kong, Taiwan, Saipan, other Mariana Islands, Italy, Germany, Belgium, England, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland and the Normandy beaches of France. 

Boating on Lake Erie began as Doug’s idea for spending family time. It evolved into an entire new chapter of travel, business ventures, and hard work. So important to him were his beloved boating and Kelleys Island/Portside Marina families. Many doubted that the lakeside community of Kelleys Island would support an upscale dining spot, but Doug had a vision when he opened Docker’s Waterfront Bar and Restaurant, and worked hard with his team to grow its popularity over the years. Portside and Docker’s were honored by being designated one of Lake Erie’s premier docking and dining destinations by Lakeland Boating magazine. Doug sold the marina and restaurant in 2017 and spent the next year cruising the Great Lakes on his boat Doc L’Orange. Both Portside Marina and Docker’s continue to thrive.

His favorite quotes included, “All of life is a compromise,” “Life isn’t fair,” “Go slow, hit slow,” and “It’s all physics.”

In addition to his parents, Doug was preceded in death by his sisters, Judith Montgomery, Kathleen Bennett, his brothers, Richard and David, and niece, KathiSue Coffman Summers.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Marilyn; daughters Kristin Boldon (George Fischer) of Minneapolis, MN, Amy Harper (Jim Bradberry) of Philadelphia, PA, and Emily Boldon (Jeff Ash) of Atlanta, GA; grandsons Drew and Gus Fischer, Jay Harper, and Kyle and Eric Ash; brothers Kato (Kim) and Tom (Kristin), and sisters Lori Pioquinto and Lisa Parker; brother-in-law Jim Daley (Diane); sisters-in-law Lorraine Boldon, Phyllis Boldon, and Nancy Daley; many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins in the Boldon and Daley families, and the many friends who gave help and comfort throughout his illness.

The family is grateful to Cathy Jordan, Julie Lafollette, and Rosalind Davis for their kindness and care, to Hospice of Central Ohio, Bill and Mary Hoekstra for their care of our family, and to the staff at Middleton Senior Living.

At his request, there will be a Celebration of Life at a future date. There will be no calling hours or funeral service.   

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Kiwanis Club of Granville (granvillekiwanis.org) or Healing Art Missions (healingartmissions.org).

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