Obituary of Clayton L. Bolton

Auburn, AL Clayton Leonard Bolton, Jr., age 72, died in Auburn, Alabama on August 17, 2010. He is survived by his wife, Katherine Maltbie Bolton, three children, Thomas Bolton, Jonathan Bolton and Jill Bolton; seven grandchildren, and is predeceased by a daughter, Polly Elizabeth Bolton, who died in 1993. The son of Clayton Bolton Sr. and Mary Chase Bolton, Mr. Bolton was born in Warrensburg, N.Y. on December 7, 1937. He attended schools in a number of upstate New York towns, including Nimmonsburg, Oneonta, Warrensburg, Horicon, and Pottersville High School, from which he graduated as co-valedictorian in 1954. He attended Lafayette College in Easton, PA, where he participated in ROTC, cheerleading, and wrestling, and he was a four year resident of Soles Hall. He graduated from Lafayette with a B.A. in Geology in 1958. Mr. Bolton began working for the New York State Department of Public Works in 1957 (renamed The Department of Transportation in 1967), and remained with the NYSDOT until his retirement in 1993, having attained the rank of Associate Engineering Geologist Grade 3 in The Bureau of Soil Mechanics. He was a lifetime member of the NYS Association of Transportation Engineers, won a number of awards for technical support, and was the first recipient of the NYSDOT Deputy Chief Engineer Citation. Over the course of his career, he worked at NYSDOT offices in Albany (1957-59), Binghamton (1960-1966), and again at Albany (1966-1993). To augment his work for the NYSDOT, Mr. Bolton earned a blasting license from the State and often supervised the breaking of ice jams on rivers, such as the Mohawk, Hudson and St. Lawrence, stabilized rock slopes along roads and highways, and cleared sites for public and commercial buildings. He performed occasional consulting work after his retirement. He was a longtime member of the Presbyterian Church in Ballston Spa, in which he served as a church elder, accountant, and as presbytery delegate. Mr. Bolton was an avid sports fan. He followed the Oakland As since his college days at Lafayette, when the team was based in nearby Philadelphia, and loved attending sporting events in which his children and grandchildren participated. His work took him to every corner of New York State, and his love for the natural, geological beauty of the state never abated. Most of all he loved the Adirondack region, particularly Brant Lake, where he spent much of his childhood and to which he moved shortly after his retirement. For a short time he served on the Horicon Planning Board in Brant Lake. He relocated to Auburn, Alabama in 2009. Friends may call on Clayton’s family from 12-2 pm Friday, August 20th at the Alexander-Baker Funeral Home, 3809 Main St., Warrensburg A memorial service to celebrate his life will follow the visitation at 2 pm Friday at the funeral home with the Rev. Hugh Nevins officiating. Interment will take place in the Brant Lake Cemetery at the completion of the memorial service. He asked that, in lieu of flowers, charitable donations be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Association (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
26 Broadway, 14th Floor
New York, NY 10004) and/or the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Association (22512 Gateway Center Drive, P.O. Box 1950, Clarksburg, MD 20871-1950). Please visit www.alexanderfh.net for online guestbook, condolences and directions.