Richard E. Boleratz

Richard E. Boleratz, of Lake Limestone, passed away at home on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, at age 76. Richard was born July 7, 1939 to Michael Boleratz and Dorothy (Tutzacov) Boleratz in Erie, Pennsylvania. He lived in PA until he was 14 and then in Ohio until he was 18. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1957 through 1961, as a medic. Richard received a degree in civil engineering from Kent State University in Ohio. Richard was united in marriage with Peg Bates on July 20, 1963 in Barbarton, Ohio. His career as a civil engineer took them all over the United States and many foreign countries. Much of his work with Firestone International was involved with rubber plantations and building new factories to process latex. He liked to travel and he liked people, and was in general a happy person who enjoyed whatever he was doing. After retiring from Firestone in 1980, he worked many additional years for Simpro, and they lived in Houston for twenty years. Richard was a private pilot and loved to fly. He passed this love of flying on to his son who was a commercial pilot and now works for FAA, and a grandson who is stationed at Ft. Bragg and is a parachute jumper. While living in Houston, Richard and Peg acquired property at Lake Limestone some thirty years ago and built a house. He loved to come to the lake every summer, vacations and weekends, where he loved to fish, boat, and just sit on the front porch watching the water and the deer. They moved to their home at the lake as their full-time residence seven years ago, and he said he loved the lake more than any place else. He was proud of his grandchildren and loved when they could come to visit. He was a member of the Oletha Baptist Church. Richard was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Michael Boleratz. He is survived by his wife of fifty-two years, Peg Boleratz of Lake Limestone (Thornton, Texas); step-son and daughter-in-law, Craig and Debbie Tompkins of Phoenix, Arizona; sister, Carol Hay of Rockford, Alabama; grandson, Craig Tompkins, Jr. of Fort Bragg, North Carolina; granddaughter, Emily Simmons of New Braunfels, Texas; and great grandchildren, Lilly Tompkins (Fort Bragg), Matthew Boyd and Franklin Simmons (New Braunfels.)