1918 – 2015

ORONO — Roland Edmond Bolduc died on Wednesday, Dec. 2, of natural causes. He was 97 years, eight months and 25 days old.

He was born on March 7, 1918, in Rang Langevin, St. Côme, Québec, into the family of Godfroid Bolduc and Marie Louise Mercier. He completed his license to teach commercial studies at the College Ste. Marie de Beauce, at age 17, and later completed a course in logging at the Duchesnay School of Forestry.

Roland married the late Venney Marquis in August 1945 and they raised a family of five children in the Maine woods, in Fort Kent and in Rumford.

Roland worked as a woodcutter, scaler, operations manager and superintendent of logging throughout Maine and southern Quebec. He worked with horses, river drives, trucks, skidders — and computers. His specialty was the design of woods operations in undeveloped areas. He took great pleasure in the work and was delighted when he solved problems of transportation, staffing, wood measurement, control of water and accounting. His layout of access roads won him the name of “Straight Roads Bolduc.”

He displayed artistic and creative flair in his use of equipment, including Polaroid photography to measure truckloads.

His last employer, then Boise Cascade, brought him and his family to Rumford, where they spent 40 years. They were active in that community and Roland was a beloved figure and pépère. Upon retirement, he worked as a consultant to logging and other enterprises for 15 years, most especially for the Brochu family of Stratton.

He is survived by his four children, Claire Bolduc, Claude Bolduc and wife, Louise, Paul Bolduc and wife, Julie, and Suzanne and husband, David Laflamme. His grandchildren remember an engaged and loving pépère, Kevin, Paul II, Daniel, Joshua, Joanna, Will, Adam and Adrian; as will his great-grandchildren, Caleb and Jacob and Avery. He will be missed by his nieces and nephews, with whom he maintained close ties. His charm, intuition and gift for friendship brought him lasting, intimate relationships with colleagues, neighbors, former teachers, extended family and young workers he mentored.

He was predeceased by his wife of 67 years, Venney; a daughter, Louise; his parents; his brothers, Eugene and Willard; his sisters, Yvonne, Nöella and Germaine; and a special nephew, Fernand Simard.