Robert H. Bolton, who died Oct. 10, 2019, was born in Syracuse in 1929.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Syracuse University, a Master of Sacred Theology degree at Boston University School of Sacred Theology and a PhD in Social Psychology from Union Graduate School.
He married Nancy Holton and they had four children: James, Elizabeth, Douglas and Kristin.
He pastored United Methodist Churches in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Marcellus, N.Y., and finally University Methodist Church in Syracuse, where he created the Onondaga Pastoral Counseling Center, which became the fourth largest such service in the country. Over time he became skeptical of Christian theology while still aspiring to follow the Christian social ethic. He resigned from the church.
In 1972 Bolton married Dorothy Grover, the love of his life. Over their 50 years of marriage their family consisted of seven children and 17 grandchildren.
In 1973 the Boltons co-founded and co-led Ridge Associates, a training firm which initially trained classroom teachers and went on to train all levels of management in Fortune 500 Corporations. His book, “People Skills,” (Simon & Schuster) was included the the Hundred Best Books on Psychology. The Boltons co-authored five other books.
Bob would like to be remembered as a person with integrity, a loving husband and father, and a person whose vocation as a minister, and later a behavioral scientist, fostered growth in individuals and collaboration among people.
