Myrna Irene Bolin

Myrna Bolin August 12, 1928 – August 29, 2023 Our dear mother is at rest after a long and productive life. She valued family, friends, faith and the fulfillment of being useful. We loved her and will miss her deeply.

Born Myrna Irene Nelson in a small Minnesota farming community, she described herself as a tomboy who loved the outdoors. After high school she worked as a cashier in the Northfield Bank, where she met and married Gayle Bolin, another Minnesota native. Gayle had served in the U.S.Navy during the War, so he was familiar with the palm trees and sunshine of San Diego. They made their way to California with their infant son and, in 1952, settled in the Chula Vista home where they spent the rest of their lives. Gayle passed away in November, 2000 at the age of 79.

Myrna enjoyed pinochle, scrabble, square dancing and family get-togethers. She was a great Mother and often acted as one of the “neighborhood moms” to the kids growing up on Oaklawn Avenue in the sixties. She saw to it that the backyard was filled with plenty of things to keep everyone busy, including a swing set and seesaw, a chin up bar and tetherball pole. Topping it off, there was a two story play shed, which was the envy of all.

With her children entering high school, Myrna began working in human resources at the Sears department store on Fifth Avenue. As a “people person”, this was a comfortable fit and she stayed on for fifteen years. Retirement came in 1985 and this gave Mom and Dad many years together sharing their interests in traveling, gardening and attending music events. It also allowed them more time to devote to their church and in lending a hand with their grandchildren, who they held dear above all else.

Mom was a great role model for us, both in living and in dying. The principles we learned at her side showed us what was truly important in life. Her graceful acceptance of the inevitable towards the end was another valuable lesson she offered up. She was ferociously independent up to her last days and adhered to the notion that self reliance was a prime virtue expected of oneself. This displayed itself in the scornful eye she would shoot at the walker we had bought her when we suggested its use.

She is predeceased by her husband, Gayle I. Bolin, her daughter, Diane Marie Eliason, her son-in-law, Larry Eliason and her younger sister, Marlys Podein. Survivors include her brother, Roger Nelson, of Northfield MN, sons Richard (and Caye) Bolin and Robert (and Isela) Bolin, all of Bonita. She also leaves behind six granddaughters and their families along with many other loved ones.

Her memorial service will be held at St. Marks Lutheran church in Chula Vista on October 21 at 11:00 a.m. It was the place where she had always felt surrounded by the love of her friends. In her heart, it remained a cherished space filled by the presence and comfort of those friends – both those in body and those in spirit alone.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.humphreymortuary.com for the Bolin family.