Northwest suburban businessman, philanthropist dies at 81

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to say that it was John Boler's father - not John Boler - who had to quit school after 8th grade to support his family

One of the Northwest suburbs' most successful business leaders and a major philanthropist whose generosity changed the reach of numerous organizations has died.

John Boler, the sitting chairman of the board of The Boler Company, based in Itasca, passed away on March 4. A longtime Inverness resident, he was 81.

His passing is being mourned by officials with Rush University Medical Center, St. Viator High School and Women In Need Growing Stronger - just a few of the local institutions that benefited from his generosity - as well as John Carroll University in Cleveland, home to the Boler School of Business.

"When he saw people passionate about making a difference, he absolutely wanted to help," said Rebecca Darr, CEO of WINGS, the Palatine-based agency that provides shelter and assistance to victims of domestic violence and their children.

In 2007, Boler took a tour of the agency's Safe Haven shelter for women and children in Rolling Meadows and then made a $1 million gift to the WINGS endowment fund.

"It was the children he saw there who touched his heart," Darr said.

Students getting a good college prep education was at the heart of the 2005 gift to St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, where he and his wife, Mary Jo, dedicated the Boler Multi Purpose Center.

"The multipurpose center wasn't just a dream; it was an essential part of our future," said the Rev. Thomas von Behren, Viatorian provincial. "John was a true partner to the Viatorian Community and in our educational mission."

At Rush University Medical Center, officials approached Boler about making a leading gift to their $300 million campaign to build a new hospital, which ultimately opened in 2012. The Bolers responded with $20 million, the biggest single donation at the time.

The gift led to the naming of the Mary Jo and John Boler Centers for Advanced Imaging, and Rush's highest honor, the Trustee Medal, in 2015.

Matt Boler, who succeeded his father in 2007 as president and CEO of The Boler Company, said his father had a humble upbringing in Marion, Ohio, as the son of a man who had to quit school after eighth grade to help support his family.

"My dad would accompany his father to the steel mill to distribute paychecks," Matt Boler says. "As a result of getting to know people on the shop floor, my dad could relate to anybody.

"Couple that with his positive disposition and enthusiastic outlook," he added, "and he truly believed he could work with people to find solutions that most people couldn't."

Boler worked his way through John Carroll University and then landed a job with the Clevite Corp., a Cleveland manufacturer, where he worked himself up to plant manager and general manager. When Clevite merged with Rolling Meadows-based Gould, Inc., Boler, Mary Jo and their five children moved to the Northwest suburbs. With Gould, Boler guided the international electronics conglomerate's entry into South American and other markets and helped facilitate in 20 mergers and acquisitions.

Boler left Gould in 1977 and started his own company. With asset-based loans, the company purchased four manufacturing companies including Hendrickson, the world's leading supplier of heavy-duty truck suspensions.

Matt Boler credits his father with guiding the company into becoming one of the country's largest privately held corporations.

"My dad was driven at a very young age to get out of poverty and to be successful," Matt Boler said. "When he reached that point, he knew that so many people had helped him a long the way, that he felt it was his responsibility to help others."

Besides his son, Matt, Boler is survived by his wife, Mary Jo, and daughters Judy (Ray) McCormack, Jill (Dan) McCormack, sons Jim (Celeste) Boler and Mike (Jamie) Boler, as well as 13 grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 1-7 p.m. Sunday, March 13, at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 185 E. Northwest Hwy. in Palatine. A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, March 14, at St. Theresa Catholic Church, 465 N. Benton St., Palatine.