Funeral services set for Dick Bolender

Funeral services for Oak Creek Mayor Dick Bolender, who died Saturday at age 68, will be Wednesday.

Visitation will be from noon to 5:45 p.m. at St. Stephen Catholic Church, 1441 W. Oakwood Road, Oak Creek, with a funeral Mass to follow at 6 p.m.

Bolender died unexpectedly at home Saturday, and the cause of death is not known. No autopsy will be performed, said his daughter, Lisa Reid.

The Oak Creek Police Department will honor the mayor with a 21-gun salute; Bolender's son, Michael, is a captain on the force.

Bolender served the city for 10 years, first as an alderman and then as a three-term mayor. He had just last Tuesday announced he would not seek a fourth term.

Before becoming involved in city politics, Bolender was a fire and theft investigator for the American Family Insurance Co., where he worked for 36 years.

Born in South Milwaukee, Bolender is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and he served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve duing college.

He is survived by wife, Christine (Keyes); daughter, Lisa (Rob) Reid; son, Michael (Kim); and six grandchildren, Brittany, Cindy, Brianna and Robby Reid and Taylor and Madison Bolender.