To the Editor:

The town of Rensselaerville lost a premier volunteer and civic-minded individual to cancer this past Sunday.  Robert “Bob” Bolte worked tirelessly to maintain the garden in front of Town Hall, as well as the garden in and around our veterans memorial.

He gave of his time, money, tools, and equipment whenever a repair was to be made to our town hall. He spearheaded the senior car and bus donation drives, so that no tax dollars would be spent to provide this valuable service.

If a raffle ticket needed to be sold to benefit a cause, Bob was your guy; he could sell thousands of dollars worth. He often quietly purchased firehouse dinner tickets, just to support us, and would then say to resell the dinners if need be, or give to a family in need.

If Bob couldn’t help you solve a problem, he would put you in contact with someone who could. He could be seen driving around town in his red truck to check on our seniors whom he knew didn’t have family in the area.

If you were working on a home project, Bob would often have the exact tools you needed, which he would gladly let you borrow.  Bob spread his generosity and giving spirit amongst our town, neighboring towns, and county.

Our town lost a valuable member of our community. I, for one, will be forever grateful for his community pride.

Kathy Wank, Assessor/Deputy Town Clerk

President, RVFD Battalion

Rensselaerville