Thomas Arthur Bubolz, PHD August 10, 1941 - May 1, 2024 Thomas "Tom" Arthur Bubolz, PhD., 82, passed away peacefully on May 1, 2024 in Grand Junction, CO, after a long illness.

Tom was born in Maywood, IL, to Arthur and Georgeanna Bubolz. He earned his undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois University in 1965, his master of arts from Indiana University in 1969, and his doctorate in sociology from Iowa State University in 1975, where he was a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. He taught at the University of Iowa before moving to New England and enjoying a long and fruitful career as a senior research associate and lecturer at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, studying trends in Medicare use and fraud across decades of research. He was awarded several accolades for his work, including an Article of the Year Award from the Association for Health Services Research. He moved to Grand Junction in 2021 to be closer to family.

Tom was a passionate and accomplished competitive shooter. He traveled widely for competition matches, including to Camp Perry, OH, and Lodi, WI, and was Vermont State Champion in high power rifle. Tom was a car, sailing and train enthusiast and an avid cyclist and Nordic skier, and he found community with fellow enthusiasts wherever he lived. He relished good conversation on topics ranging from current events and military history to F1 racing and natural history.

Tom is preceded in death by his parents; former wife, Nancy Reid Bubolz; son, Derek Thomas Bubolz; and sister-in-law, Carol Bubolz. He is survived by daughter Stacey (Kevin) Colón; brothers, David (Cheryl) Bubolz and Carl Bubolz; grandsons, Alexander and William Colón; and nieces and nephews Gretchen (Wilhelm) Sturhan, Chris (Julie) Bubolz and Jason (Teresa Tam) Bubolz. Tom's family would like to extend sincere thanks to the staff at the Fountains of Hilltop and the HopeWest Ferris Care Center, and would encourage donations in memory of Tom at https://www.htop.org/donate/ or https://www.hopewestco.org/donate/ in lieu of flowers.

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Published by The Daily Sentinel from May 12 to May 13, 2024.

Memories and Condolences
for Thomas Bubolz

4 Entries

Jon Skinner

May 24, 2024

I was very sorry to have heard about Tom's passing. He was a friend, and a key member of the research group at Dartmouth (Geisel) Medical School that pioneered the study of geographic variations in health care in the US. The Dartmouth Atlas, which grew out of Tom's programming work (and led by Jack Wennberg, who died a few months ago), was enormously influential in health policy, and regularly written up in newspapers and discussed by leading politicians. Throughout the several decades of the Atlas, Tom was the person to ask data questions and provide mentoring and guidance to the next generation of researchers.

I knew Tom primarily through his work on Medicare fraud. I still remember him showing me computer printouts of the remarkably high rates of immunoglobulin shots, but only in Miami, the fraud capital of the country. We then worked with James O'Malley to better characterize the tight network of fraudulent home health care agencies in Miami and several other cities, resulting in what I think was his last published paper in Social Science and Medicine, in 2023.

Tom was always intellectually curious, funny, and all around a straight shooter (in both senses of the expression!) I will miss him tremendously.

Kathy Stroffolino

May 10, 2024

I am sad to hear about the loss of my good friend and colleague. Thom and I shared many conversations about what was important in our lives, family and not to be afraid to live our lives. I just shot at a shooting range and thought of him as he would tell me how far he would travel to do that. Condolences to his family he was a good man and I was honored to have know him.

Ann Cougle

May 9, 2024

Tom was a bright, friendly and very nice man. He volunteered at the Town Hall Heritage Center in Orford NH. He always had a beautiful smile and gentle attitude, He will be missed!

Marilyn Rosado

May 4, 2024

We the Rosado family although do not know him personally but heard of him and his adventures often. He had a full life, accomplished many things and lived to see his daughter grow , have a career, marry and have a family of her own. I know as a parent that he went in peace knowing she would be well taken care of. He now rests in peace away from all suffering. We pray for the family he left behind that God will provide them strength, peace and healing during this time.

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