Cover photo for Wayne Bolton's Obituary
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Wayne

Wayne Bolton

d. September 21, 2019

William Wayne Bolton passed away peacefully on Saturday afternoon, September 21, 2019, at the age of 96, just three days short of his 97th birthday.

Mr. Bolton was born on a beautiful Sunday morning in Adamsville, McNairy County, Tennessee, on September 24, 1922, the second son of John Patton Bolton and Hassie O’Neal Bolton. In 1931, his father purchased a house in Bethel Springs, Tennessee for the sum of $600. During his childhood, Mr. Bolton worked hard in school and also held jobs to help support his family financially. He lost his father in 1935 and quickly learned the importance of hard work and Christian values at a very young age. Throughout his life, his character and integrity were of utmost importance to him. He graduated from high school in Bethel Springs in 1941 and continued to attend annual reunions at the school up until recent years.

In 1942, Mr. Bolton enrolled in the Andrew Jackson Business University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he received a business degree. Shortly thereafter, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was stationed in Columbia, South Carolina; Martin, Tennessee; Athens, Georgia; Millington, Tennessee; Great Lakes; Norman, Oklahoma; Corpus Christi, Texas; and San Diego, California. After spending over three years in the Navy, he returned home to West Tennessee and began attending college at Lambuth University in 1946, majoring in history with a minor in business administration. He was a member of Theta Psi Fraternity (serving as Vice President his junior year and President his senior year), Veterans Club, and Dormitory Council (serving as Vice President his junior year and President his senior year). Remembering the value of hard work that he learned as a young child, he graduated from Lambuth early in August of 1949.

For the years 1949 and 1950, Mr. Bolton taught biology and coached boys and girls basketball in Crocket Mills, Tennessee. Later in 1950, he moved to Mobile, Alabama to begin working for Liberty Mutual Insurance, which transferred him to Miami, Florida in 1953 and then to Jackson, Mississippi a few months later.

It was in Jackson, Mississippi that he met the love of his life, Frances Duchess McLaurin. Their first date was a double date to a football game with Fran’s sister, Evelyn McLaurin, and her husband-to-be, Jim Hinton, who worked with Mr. Bolton at Liberty Mutual. He knew he had found a true southern belle whose basic training and early environment was very similar to his – enduring the Great Depression and being raised by proud, but poor, parents who gave their children little in the way of material value but provided life skills and training that was invaluable. In 1954, he and Fran spent Christmas together with his mother in Bethel Springs, and on the car ride back to Jackson, Mississippi, Fran (always moving faster than him) proposed to him. They were married on February 24, 1955.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Bolton started classes at Jackson School of Law, a night law school, and completed two years before Liberty Mutual transferred him to Charlotte, North Carolina. In February of 1957, the Boltons and their two dogs moved to Charlotte. After making many friends in Charlotte but feeling very homesick, they returned to Jackson, Mississippi, where he resumed night classes in law school and graduated with a Juris Doctorate degree.

Back in Jackson, Mississippi, the Boltons welcomed their daughter, Melissa, and later their son, Bill. On November 26, 1964, the Bolton family of four moved to Selmer, Tennessee, where Mr. Bolton would eventually open a law practice. He quickly became a part of the community and began working for the betterment thereof. He and his family joined the First Presbyterian Church, where he was elected Trustee, Deacon, Elder, and Sunday School Superintendent and also served as a Sunday School Teacher. He later moved his membership to First Baptist Church in 2002.

In 1966, Mr. Bolton was elected City Alderman and was later elected City Attorney in 1970 and served in that position for 16 years. He also served as President of the Tennessee Municipal Attorney Association and counsel for Pickwick Electric Cooperative for many years.

In February of 1979, he went on a mission trip to Haiti that changed his life. He spent the remaining years of his life supporting missions in Haiti, serving as President of Northwest Haiti Missions and recently learning that a classroom in Haiti was just named the “Dr. Wayne Bolton” classroom in his honor.

He enjoyed practicing law in Selmer for many years and especially loved getting to serve as a juvenile judge after his retirement from law practice. He was instrumental in the Rotary Club (serving as Vice President and President and being named a Paul Harris Fellow), Gideons International, American Legion, McNairy County Chamber of Commerce, and Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. He loved politics and worked actively in the campaigns for U.S. Senators Howard Baker and Bill Brock. His community and country were very important to him, and he devoted much of his life to serving Selmer. He and Fran loved to travel and frequently took trips with Selmer friends who became like family.

Mr. Bolton is survived by his wife of 64 years, Frances Duchess McLaurin Bolton; his daughter, Melissa Page (Joe) of Selmer, Tennessee; son Bill Bolton (Carla) of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas; granddaughters Mary Lauren Teague (Daniel) of Nashville, Tennessee, Blair Vincent (Hunter) of Nashville, Tennessee, Rachel Goss (Chris) of Memphis, Tennessee, and Danielle Ochs (Austin; and great grandchildren, Raef, Thatch, and Shepherd) of Kechi, Kansas; grandson Tommy Bolton (Erika; and great grandchildren, Amaya, Addison, and Haedyn) of Memphis, Tennessee; and many cousins, sisters in law, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. He also leaves behind his beloved dog, Tip, who has been cared for over the last year by dear friends Tom and Brenda Cauley after his move to assisted living. He is preceded in death by his parents, John Patton Bolton and Hassie O’Neal Bolton, and older brother, Homer Leo Bolton.

In an autobiography that he spent the last two years writing, Mr. Bolton remarked: “To God and America I extend my gratitude and thanks for more blessings than I can count. I feel that I have been wonderfully blessed by living in a Nation under God, where justice and peace prevail a very high percentage of the time, and in so doing places this Nation in a league all its own.”

The family extends sincere appreciation to the staff and caregivers of StoneRidge of Farmington, Encompass Hospice, First Baptist Church Selmer, and Shackelford Funeral Directors and a special thank you to Brother Jetta Forsythe for his frequent visits and heartfelt words of encouragement to the Boltons.

Pallbearers include Tommy Bolton, Daniel Teague, Hunter Vincent, David Hinton, Jimmy Hinton, and Joe Schicke. Honorary pallbearers include Jerry Wright and Tom Cauley.

The family will receive visitors on Monday, September 23, 2019, at First Baptist Church Selmer from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. A celebration of life will immediately follow at 1:00 PM.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, sympathy be expressed by donations to First Baptist Church Selmer Building Fund or Gideons International.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Wayne Bolton, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Monday, September 23, 2019

10:00am - 1:00 pm (Eastern time)

Selmer First Baptist Church

310 West Court Avenue, Selmer, TN 38375

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Church Services

Monday, September 23, 2019

Starts at 1:00 pm (Eastern time)

Selmer First Baptist Church

310 West Court Avenue, Selmer, TN 38375

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

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