Chris Alan Bolton

Chris Alan Bolton, 82, passed away on April 19, 2023, in Grove, OK with his loved ones around him. Chris was born on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1941, in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Lawrence Berry and Gene Maurine (Johnson) Bolton. He attended Jay High School and graduated from Northeastern State College, majoring in math and minoring in science as well as playing lineman on the college football team. He taught at Edison High School in Tulsa, OK and then moved to Colorado where he taught honors physics at Wheat Ridge High School for 30 years and coached the school’s physics team. He often stated that he did not know another occupation that worked harder to earn its living than a teacher, but teaching gave him great joy and he often expressed how important the teaching occupation is to society as a whole.

Chris was a man of many hobbies. Fine woodworking was one of his favorites, and he created everything from furniture to spinning wheels. His spinning wheels were featured at top national events, and he occasionally participated in “sheep to shawl” demonstrations with his wife and daughters. He was also a member of the  Experimental Aircraft Association, flying and building his own home-built airplane, which inspired one of his grandchildren to pursue a career as an aerospace engineer. He volunteered at many youth events, giving talks and demonstrations about the physics of flight to generate excitement and interest in science and math among the young attendees. He was very interested in environmental issues and built his own passive solar earth berm home in the 1970’s. He also enjoyed wind surfing, backpacking, politics, and riding horses/driving horse buggies, and for a few summers he had a job mapping jeep trails.

After his retirement from teaching, Bolton moved back to the family farm where he was raised and which he loved. Here he enjoyed using his own sawmill to process the trees that grew on his farm into boards for his woodworking, and he had a herd of Limousin cattle which he loved to work with. 

Bolton is survived by his two daughters, Becky Bolton and Beth (Dan) Lancaster; six grandchildren: Erin (Danny) Sullivan, Bolton Lancaster, Morgan (David) Pierce, Bolton (Daniela) Ferda, Madison Lancaster and Landon Ferda; three great-grandchildren; siblings Michael Bolton and Sandra Dougherty; and his cherished companion, Doris Nelson. He was preceded in death by his parents and by his sister, Mary Grimes.

Memorial donations can be made by clicking on this link:

Young Eagles Program of the Experimental Aircraft Association

(Please be sure to designate the Young Eagles Program)

You may send your favorite memories of Chris to the family at www.honoringmemoriesgrove.com

A service for the immediate family will be held at a later date.