John Seelye Bolin

John and Sandra were married in 1965. In 1970, following graduate school in Michigan, John became a professor at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. Berea was to become their cherished home for more than 50 years. There they quickly made lifelong friends and strongly supported the College’s commitments to racial equality and educational opportunity for the economically disadvantaged and underserved across Appalachia and beyond. During his tenure as professor and dean, John taught classes in theatre history, design, speech, acting, literature, and general studies. He directed over 50 plays from 1970 to retirement in 2009. After the Tabernacle fire in 1973, John created the Phoenix Theatre as a temporary venue in Phelps Stokes Chapel and helped design the new Jelkyl Drama Center which opened in 1980. He was the founder of Berea College Summer Repertory Theatre from 1981 to 1983, and the Canadian Drama Project,1975 to 1996.

He was elected to the Berea Board of Education (1989-1992) and was first president and founding member of the Berea Arts Council. He was a W.K. Kellogg National Fellow (1983 to 1986), as well as a recipient of the Seabury Award for Excellence in Teaching. Later in his career, he served as Associate Dean of General Education from 1989 to 1994, and Dean of the Faculty from 1998 to 2003. Under his direction, a theatre major became available to students, many of whom went on to careers in professional theatre and education. He was very proud of his students’ work and believed in the power of theatre to nurture empathy and awareness of the human condition. John’s book, “Full-Length Plays Produced at Berea College, 1892 to 2006,” documents the growth and success of the Berea College theatre program over many years. John loved travel with Sandra and family, including the family’s Scottish terriers, opera, furniture making, the works of William Morris, gardening, and time with his family and many friends. He is survived by his wife Sandra, son Nathaniel, daughter-in-law Vivienne, granddaughter Sophie, brother Bruce and his wife Janet and their daughters Claire and Margot, as well as sister-in-law Nancy and many cousins, nieces and nephews. A family gathering will be held for John at a later date.

Those wishing to do so may make a contribution in John’s memory to a favorite charity or to the Bolin-Blaine Memorial Scholarship Fund at Berea College, CPO 2216, Berea, KY. 40404. The fund was established by John and Sandra to help students with the costs of foreign study.