GAWDA extends its condolences to the friends and family of Roger Bolenbaugh, former CEO of IWDA/IWDC, who passed away on October 3, 2020. According to an obituary posted on iwdc.coop:
“Roger Bolenbaugh, 79, of Fort Wayne, passed away on Saturday, October 3, 2020. He was born to the late Fred and Elaine (Blythe) Bolenbaugh in Grover Hill, OH on January 2, 1941. Roger was the Valedictorian of Grover Hill High School Class of 1958. He married Patricia Ann Ross on June 25, 1960 at the Grover Hill United Methodist Church. He was a business executive for Lincoln Life Financial, W. T. Grant, MedPro Group, and Do It Best Corporation. In 1994 he became CEO of Independent Welding Distributors Association, later merging with The Key Group to form the IWDC, the largest cooperative in the welding industry. He retired in 2004.
One of Roger’s greatest passions was playing softball. He has played this game competitively in every decade since the 1940s. Most recently he played with the Indianapolis Classics, where he competed nationwide and was inducted into the Indiana Softball Hall of Fame. Roger has won four National Championship rings and one National Championship watch.
Roger is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Pat; children, Gary (Cindy) Bolenbaugh, Sheri (Jim) Carteaux, Angela (Brad) Koch, and Darcy Bolenbaugh; grandchildren, Tiffany Pulkowski, Kristen Carteaux, Jason Bolenbaugh, Ashley Bolenbaugh, Jordan Riggs, Jarrad Koch, Jacob Koch, Joe Bolenbaugh, and Hannah Carteaux; great-grandchildren, Austin, Anthony, Morgan, Lukas, Brooklynn, Sawyer, Dexter, Sebastian, Wyatt, Owen, and James; and brother, Duke Bolenbaugh. He was also preceded in death by brothers, Bill and Keith Bolenbaugh.”
