The 1971 Santa Clarita Man of the Year, Ed Bolden has died at the age of 95.
On Thursday, March 23, 2023, it was announced that Santa Clarita had lost one of its oldest living recipients of the Man of the Year Reward.
“It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of Ed Bolden, 1971 MOY,” said a statement from Gloria Mercado-Fortine. “For those of you who knew him, he was the kindest of men and a gentle and caring person. He was very involved in many organizations. I was proud to serve with him on the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center.”
Ed Bolden won in 1971 as a board member of the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center.
Bolden, a civil engineer, helped Dixon build a church in Val Verde during the late 1960s.
Bolden performed grading plans and helped build retaining walls for the church, which also included an adjacent building for classrooms. The classrooms would eventually become a health center.
“Ed Bolden was a mentor to me and to countless others. He was a kind and caring man who always wanted to help people.We both served on the Samuel Dixon Family Health Board. He served as chairman of the board for several years. He was a wonderful leader and a true gentleman. It was a great compliment when he nominated me as the next chairman. I learned so much from him. I will miss him dearly,” said Mercado-Fortine.
For the rest of his life Bolden worked to give to the community, holding a special place in the Santa Clarita Rotary Club.
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A true “Gentle Man”. Rotary was made better for so many years because of his unselfish and kind giving. I will always remember him as someone who shared his emotional strength and his attitude of “Service above self”. Rest in peace dear friend. Forever in my heart. Sheri
Ed was a giant of a man — and someone I will always look up to in many ways. He was the very model of a Rotarian, always valuing service above self. I never heard him say a bad word about anyone, regardless of whether they disagreed, but at the same time, he always fought for what he believed was right. He was a fixture and pillar of the Elks’ Lodge here in SCV. One of my first volunteer positions in SCV was with the Sam Dixon Family Health Centers — which he invited me to — and he was a huge benefactor as well as a key booster of that worthy organization that has helped literally thousands of regular folks in our community. He was clearly a leader in everything he did and yet was always willing do dig in and get his hands dirty; he was ever present at Rotary projects ranging from the annual Pancake Breakfast on July 4 to helping install Little Free Libraries around SCV and much much more.
I will miss him. This community will miss him. And he will always remain one of the ideal models of a real man that I draw inspiration from.
God has brought home one of his finest servants. I suspect that if there is Rotary in heaven, Ed will be District Governor before we know it.
Rest in peace, my friend.
Ed was a true gentleman and a caring soul. He was one of the founding Fathers of the Newhall Boys Club. He was the second Board President in 1970. One of the most community minded and respected human beings I ever met. Rest In Peace Ed.