Robert Eugene "Bob" Bolen (April 10, 1926 – January 6, 2014) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and businessman who held office as the

Mayor of Fort Worth, Texas This is a list of mayors who served the city of Fort Worth, Texas, USA. ''*Dates given by Fort Worth Mayor's office.'' References {{reflist Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th ...

, from 1982 to 1991. Bolen was

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

longest-serving mayor in history. He has been credited with spearheading the creation of

Fort Worth Alliance Airport Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport is a public airport north of the central business district of Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The airport is owned by the City of Fort Worth and managed by Alliance Air Services, a subsidiary of Hillw ...

, which opened in 1989. Mayor Bolen also successfully recruited the

Bureau of Engraving and Printing The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is Federal Rese ...

, which opened the first currency production facility outside of

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

in Fort Worth during his tenure.

Biography

Early life

Bolen was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, on April 10, 1926, as the eldest son of Milford Louis Bolen and Beatrice "Bee" Pinkerton Bolen. His father was a manager at McCrory Stores. The family moved more than twenty times when Bolen was a child due to his father's job transfers. Bob Bolen initially enrolled at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, but left the school to enlist in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He served as a

gunnery officer The gunnery officer of a warship was the officer responsible for operation and maintenance of the ship's guns and for safe storage of the ship's ammunition inventory. Background The gunnery officer was usually the line officer next in rank to the ...

on board the

USS Iowa (BB-61) USS ''Iowa'' (BB-61) is a retired battleship, the lead ship of her class, and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named after the state of Iowa. Owing to the cancellation of the s, ''Iowa'' is the last lead ship of any class of United S ...

during the war. Bolen returned to

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. ...

after the end of World War II, where he finished his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

at Texas A&M in 1948. Later in life, Bolen was receive an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

from

Texas Wesleyan University Texas Wesleyan University is a private Methodist university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1890 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth. Its mascot is th ...

and honorary doctorates in public service from both

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

and

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

. He married his wife, the former Fran Ciborowski, in 1952 and the couple soon moved to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

.Fran Bolen died in 2021 not 2014.

Business career

Bolen's first business was the Bolen Toy Palace, which opened in the Westcliff Shopping Center in Fort Worth. He later expanded that store into Bolen's Bike World. He also opened approximately twenty Hallmark Cards stores throughout the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...

and the

San Antonio metropolitan area Greater San Antonio, officially designated San Antonio–New Braunfels, is an eight-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The metropolitan area straddles South Texas and Central ...

. In the 1980s, Bolen partnered with a group of businessman and investors to create Cornerstone Investments, firm specializing in

mergers Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

and

acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

Political career

Bolen was first elected to the Fort Worth City Council in 1979. In 1982, Bolen won a special mayoral election to replace former Fort Worth Mayor Woodie Woods. He supported the redevelopment of downtown Fort Worth as mayor. He also spearheaded the creation of

, which has served as a major catalyst for growth in the region. Bolen successfully persuaded the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to open a currency production facility in Fort Worth. Under Bolen, Fort Worth established its first

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

relationship with Reggio Emilia, Italy. Two years later, Fort Worth established sister city links with

Trier, Germany Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, and Nagaoka, Japan. Bolen was elected to the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the

National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an advocacy organization in the United States that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a leading membership ...

in 1985. He also became the President of the Texas Municipal League in 1987. In 1990, Bolen became the President of the

. Bob Bolen retired as Mayor in 1991. He then became an advisor to the chancellor of

. Bob Bolen died at his home in Fort Worth on the morning of January 6, 2014, at the age of 87. His funeral, which was attended by hundreds, was held at the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Fort Worth on January 11, 2014. He was survived by his wife, Fran Bolen; their daughter, Terrie Manning; two sons, Randy Bolen and Ron Bolen; and their foster son, Don Cosby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolen, Bob 1926 births 2014 deaths Politicians from Chicago Mayors of Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth City Council members Businesspeople from Texas Texas A&M University alumni Military personnel from Texas United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American businesspeople