Audrey E. Bolton

A Funeral Service for Audrey E. Bolton of Warroad, MN will be held on Saturday, June 29, 2024 at 2:00PM at Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church in Roosevelt, MN. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will take place at Riverside Cemetery following the service. 

Audrey Bolton was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the oldest of 3 daughters of Harold and Emma Kling. She and her sisters Shirley and Arlene grew up on a farm near Willow Creek where Audrey milked cows, drove tractor, and helped make many meals for the threshers.  She told stories of summers with cousins, riding the work horses early in the morning, and walking to the Willow Creek school in winter, which was across from Mt. Carmel Church. Another story Audrey told was earning money for a coat she wanted by picking potatoes in fall.   

Audrey was a talented singer and got top scores during competitions in high school, and sung in choir as well.  She was asked to sing at many weddings. She enjoyed many friendships during her high school years,  and many joined her in cheerleading, and going to dances.  Audrey loved dancing. 

Audrey graduated high school in 1950 and moved to St. Paul where she began work as a telephone operator for Northwestern Bell,  a job she enjoyed for its variety as well as its challenges.  

After marrying Alton Bolton and living in Warroad, she continued to work as a telephone operator.  They enjoyed taking Shireen fishing, spending time in the summers at the lake and Flag Island. These memories were some of the highlights Shireen recalls as well as planting hundreds of trees, which needed plenty of pails of water.   

Making friends with other couples meant card parties, suppers out and dancing.   Audrey was a girl scout leader, part of the Legion Auxiliary, a Lake township board member in later years, and enjoyed all aspects of volunteering her time.  She loved learning new things.  At church she sang in the choir and volunteered on the church's flower committee for many years.  Audrey made beautiful arrangements and even added flowers from her own gardens.   Audrey's daughters recall her wonderful sewing skills, sewing dresses and other clothing. There were many patterns she kept in a box.  

Audrey continued her love of planting trees and tending impressive flower beds after moving out to the ridge. Trees planted then are now grown into healthy tall wind protection.  The large flower bed has sturdy perennials with beautiful pink and purple blossoms.   We learned a lot about how to make things grow.   One of those was everyday weeding. The beautiful hydrangeas she grew were her favorite flower, followed by lilies and different varieties of lilacs.   

There were always canned vegetables and fruits and jellies. Rows and rows of canned goods.  Audrey loved going out and picking blueberries, sometimes with family and many times with a good friend. Those handpicked berries made it into a few homemade pie crusts. Her blueberry pie was second to none.  Another popular canned good was chokecherry jelly and syrup.   In later years her sons would pick and help process the jelly. It was a labor of love. 

Audrey worked past retirement as a paraprofessional for many years. She enjoyed helping kids learn in all the different school subjects and spent most days with preschool and elementary aged children. Audrey also helped with Special Olympics and she truly enjoyed it. She was a volunteer in a support group for people dealing with loss of a spouse. She spent many years providing support through listening  to stories of loss and grief, giving words of encouragement, and planning meals and fun activities. 

Audrey was passionate about genealogy. She located many relatives going back to Europe.  She also loved history.  We were fortunate to spend many 4th of Julys together. Audrey would send a special email invitation which contained a good dose of history and patriotism, and reading the invite was always interesting.  The 4th meant good memories of time spent with our siblings and their families all in one place, enjoying Audrey's delicious potato salad.  

Despite all of life's ups and downs Audrey was resilient and steady, always looking forward and never afraid of hard work.  She was her family's center.  Her life was a true example of faith, selflessness, and love.  Audrey built a firm foundation for her 5 children, 12 grandchildren, and 22 great grandchildren. There are many more stories and memories too numerous to share. She was dearly loved by her family and her memory will be forever cherished. 

Audrey was preceded in death by her husband Alton Bolton, parents Harold Kling and Emma(Danner) Kling, sisters Shirley Kleven, and Arlene Swenson and
brother-in-law Robert Swenson

She is survived by Sons: Glen Bolton (Geraldine Rasmussen), Eric Bolton.  Daughters Shireen(Dan) Anderson, Melanie (Esp) Christensen, Lisa Bolton.  Grandchildren: Chandra(Jason) Schneider, Derek(Krista) Anderson, Travis(Karen)Anderson, Troy(Rachel) Anderson.  Megan (Tyler) Spann, Greg Bolton, Jordan (TyLynn) Aubol, Blake Aubol, Gabby Bolton (Barette Boutain) Khristina (Brandon) Huewe, Caitlin (Cody) Halvorson, Emily (David) Waletich, and 22 great grandchildren.

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