Duane Bolkey

Duane was born to Howard Lewis Bolkey and Geraldine Augusta Bolkey in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1953. As an only child, Duane had a very strong love for both of his parents and had missed them dearly since their passings. Duane will finally be reunited with them once his ashes are interred at Laurel-Hill cemetery in Erie, PA later this year.

Duane went on to move to Colorado and marry Lisa Richardson in 1994, and they welcomed their beautiful daughter Taylor Starr Bolkey into the world on December 2nd, 1996. Taylor was the apple of Duane’s eye, and he was so proud of her! Even though Duane and Lisa did later divorce in 2006, they stayed friends for his entire life. Duane will always be a part of the Richardson family!

Duane’s love for music was evident, especially when he would tell everyone that Taylor was named after James Taylor and Ringo Starr… but, this will be a debate that will be forever ongoing! Taylor was Duane’s absolute greatest accomplishment in life, and John Lennon said it best, “Love is the greatest refreshment in life.” Duane and Taylor spent their time traveling the world, and when they weren’t together, they spent their time talking on the phone daily. The two of them had traveled together to Kenya, Tanzania, Iceland, Switzerland, Canada and over half of the United States, just to name a few!

Duane also had a passion for architecture and animals. He designed a log cabin to be built in Coal Creek Canyon, Colorado in 1998. There his family lived with a cocker spaniel named Buster and a blue and gold macaw named Birdie. Duane was a brilliant man, with a degree from Penn State in mechanical engineering, and this brought him job opportunities all over the United States. One of his favorite places he got to work was Amarillo, Texas. He met so many incredible people in Amarillo, but I think his favorite thing about Amarillo was the animals at the Amarillo Wildlife Refuge. He spent his nights and weekends volunteering there, but really did it so he could play with the monkeys, since they are illegal to have as pets in Colorado… he definitely did his research on that subject, because he wanted a pet monkey more than anything! Duane enjoyed bringing Taylor to visit the wildlife refuge, and they spent countless hours playing with baby tigers and gibbons! Duane traveled between different nuclear engineering contracts for 17 years until he finally retired in 2019 to move back into his log cabin in Colorado and to be closer to Taylor.

Duane lived a life full of knowledge, adventure, and compassion. He touched the hearts of so many and will be dearly missed, but never forgotten.

“Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given, never forgotten, never let it disappear.” – John Lennon

In Duane’s final years he was a patient at DaVita kidney care for dialysis treatments three times a week. The staff at DaVita played such an important and caring role in Duane’s life, that Duane’s family would like to show their gratitude for the exceptional nurses and doctors who went above and beyond to take care of Duane by asking that any donations be made to DPC (Dialysis Patient Citizens) https://www.dialysispatients.org/get-involved/donate/

Duane's daughter Taylor is planning a couple of celebrations this year, one in Colorado and one in Erie, PA. (Dates TBD).