Vincent Bolling Jr.

Vince was born in Dayton in 1933 and graduated from Fairborn High School in 1951. The same year, the Dayton Journal Herald named Vince to the all city football team for offensive guard.

He studied at Miami of Ohio for one year before transferring to Ohio State University, where he met his muse and soulmate Elana de Angelis. Vince and Elana married in 1954 and together lived a spectacular life.

Mr Bolling' s father, Vince Sr, died tragically in an air plane crash in 1957, leaving Vince Jr in control of Airco Coals, Inc., a small retail coal company that he transformed into a vertically integrated operation involving mining, washing, processing and selling coal to such companies as General Motors, Ford, Mississippi Power and Florida Power and Light.

Mr Bolling was most generous to the arts, devoting philanthropic assistance and his valuable time. He served on the board of the Cincinnati May Festival, The Ohio Arts Council, The Executive Committee for the National Endowment of the Arts, and The Cincinnati Opera.

The Dayton Philharmonic, The Dayton Ballet and the Dayton Art Institute all had Vince on their boards. He was a major contributor to saving the iconic Victoria Theatre in Downtown Dayton from being torn down. His most remarkable accomplishment and lasting gift to his community was the creation of Vanguard Concerts in 1962. With a dream and desire to bring world quality chamber music to Dayton, Vince approached Thomas Colt, then Director of the Dayton Art Institute with a proposition to use the Renaissance Auditorium at DAI as a venue for the concert series. The venture has been a smashing success and Vanguard will begin its 54th season this September. The series has presented internationally acclaimed ensembles and musicians such as the Julliard String Quartet, Menahem Pressler and the Beaux Arts Trio, The Emerson String Quartet and James Levine. The University of Dayton has taken over stewardship of Vanguard to ensure that the legacy of world quality chamber music will continue for generations to come.

Mr. Bolling is survived by his beloved wife Elana, his son Vincent of New York, his son Armand and daughter in law Marci of Jupiter, FL, his grandson Vincent of Lantana, FL, and his sister Barbara Brock and brother in law William Brock of Dayton, Ohio. Vincent was preceded in death by his beloved Mother and Father Millicent and Vincent, his sister Marilyn Taylor and Brother in Law Darrel Taylor of Jamestown, Ohio and his beloved daughter Cara.

Memorial Service will be held at Holy Angels Catholic Church, 1322 Brown Street, Dayton, Ohio, 45409, Saturday, September 17 at 10:30 am.

In lieu of flowers, please send donation to: University of Dayton, in memory of Vince Bolling for the Vanguard Legacy Concerts. University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton Ohio, 45469 Attn: Rory Dahlinhaus. (937-229-3089)

Arrangements under the direction of Aycock-Riverside Funeral and Cremation Center, Jupiter, FL.