John L. Boland, of Hamilton MT, passed away on the evening of Jan. 6, 2023, from pancreatic cancer, with his wife Dawn holding his hand, singing his favorite Bob Dylan songs.
John was born in
Ansonia, CT, the first born of four children, on March 12, 1946, to John and Anna (née DiPiro). A precocious youngster, John had fond boyhood memories of his school days, including rascally pranks and going home from kindergarten for lunch with his Italian grandmother. Pigeon or squirrel were occasionally on the menu. Following graduation from Norwich University, he completed army officer training at Fort Knox before being stationed for 18 months in Schwabach, Germany during the Vietnam War.
Before becoming the emperor of the MT Essence Company empire, renowned perfumer, and entrepreneur that he was, John earned his master's degree in planning from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and was the first county planner in Ravalli County in 1975.
John was a humorist, a contrarian and always an independent thinker. He took after his own father as a great storyteller and the opposite of politically correct. He laughed often and made others laugh until their sides hurt. He had a penchant for ruining (or improving, depending on your point of view) family photos by crossing his eyes, wearing gloves on the wrong hand or giving bunny ears behind someone's unsuspecting head.
John is survived by his wife, Dawn, who for 27 years of marriage honored her wedding vow of making him gravy once a week; his children from a previous marriage, David (Samantha) and Sara (Paul); Dawn's children Jesse (Katie), Jade (Brandon) and Cole; his grandchildren Max, Luke, Rocco, Donovan, Brighton, Grelyn, Madden, Elsiana, Mila, Parker, Sionne. He is also survived by his siblings Kathleen Sobolewski (Bob), Susan Shepherd and Tom Boland (Jim) and many friends who cherished his company and always looked forward to spending time with him and Dawn.
To paraphrase from his own words, let's all think of John riding on the back of a dinosaur, his arms wrapped around Jesus's midriff as he moves on to the next great fishing hole and kite flying beach in the sky.
To honor his memory, go fly a kite, laugh out loud at a Gary Larson Farside comic, float down a river, do a little swing dancing and share a favorite John memory or anecdote. We are sure there is a lifetime supply of them!
A celebration of life will be at the Boland Ranch on July 30, 2023, on the river bottom. All family and friends are welcome. More specific details will follow.
Anyone planning on attending please email:
[email protected] so we can plan accordingly.