14 Feb Doris Bollinger

Doris Mary Bollinger, 82, of Bismarck, N.D., passed away surrounded by her loving family at CHI St. Alexius Hospital in Bismarck, N.D. on February 11, 2021.

A Celebration of Doris’s Life will be held at 1:00 pm on Thursday, February 18, 2021.  The service will be held at Bismarck Funeral Home located at 3723 Lockport St., Bismarck, N.D., and a livestream of the service can be viewed on their Facebook page.

Doris was born on July 17, 1938, in New Salem, N.D.  She was the youngest daughter of Louis and Elizabeth Lang.  Doris enjoyed growing up with her sister Dolores Boehm (Leonard) of Bismarck, N.D.  The two sisters stayed close and socialized throughout adulthood.

Doris graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 1956.  On June 26, 1958, she married Julius Schmidt, and they had five children.  The marriage ended in divorce.

Doris married Reinhold Bollinger on December 29, 1973, and inherited two grown stepsons, Dennis Bollinger and Rick Bollinger.

Doris, an accomplished seamstress, sewed clothes for her children and did alterations as a part-time side job to bring in extra money.    Doris loved dancing, golfing and league bowling.  Her favorite hobbies included reading, gardening and putting together jigsaw puzzles – mostly with Donna Schmidt.  She loved playing Bejeweled and word games on her computer.

Doris worked at MDU for a time in Jamestown, N.D., and used a now lost, shorthand-skill at that job.  After moving to Ellendale, she managed a First Federal Savings and Loan branch location which later became Metropolitan Federal Bank.  She retired from the same location, now renamed to BNC Bank in the mid-nineties.

Doris was actively involved in the life of the small-town community of Ellendale, N.D.  She was a founding board member serving as the secretary of The Ellendale Opera House project which is listed on The National Register of Historic Places.  She had a soft heart for women and children who needed a safe haven and chose to be involved with the work of Kedish House in Ellendale. Doris volunteered faithfully on many civic and community organization boards during her working career.

While living in Bismarck, N.D., she frequented the library filling her book bag with up to a dozen mysteries each month.  She will be lovingly remembered by her children and grandchildren as sitting in her favorite chair, her cat on her lap and her book in her hands. After one of her many pets died, she rescued another orange tabby from Rockin’ Rescue – his name is Gus and is finding a new home with Kathy and Dennis Rodin.

Grateful to have shared her life, Doris is survived by her five children and her stepsons, Jo Ann Kent of Hurst, Texas, and her children Michael Kent (Heather) and Kelsey Kent; Mary Pittman (Barry) of Plain City, Utah, and their children Katie Dahle (Brandon), Claire Pittman and Zachary Pittman;  Kathy Rodin (Dennis) of Bismarck, N.D., and their children Meagan Williams, Amanda Rodin and Emily Mares (Mathew); Donna Schmidt of Bismarck, N.D. and her children Brittany Hearn and Marcus Myers (Anastasia); and Louis Schmidt (Karen) of Mobridge, S.D., and their children Alexandree Hahler (Colton), Jalen Diede and Kaitlen Diede;  Dennis Bollinger of Savage, Minn., and Rick (Dawn) Bollinger and their children Thomas Affrunti and his daughter Ryley Affrunti; and Amy Chapman and her children Katelyn and Chase Chapman, and her 7 great-grandchildren, Mattie Herrara, Kaitlin Kent, Jackson Barker, Kash Barker, Vincent Williams, Piper Sandford and Baya Binegar.

Doris was welcomed into heaven and greeted by her parents and her husband who preceded her in death.

Memorials were chosen to honor the connection Doris had to them and may be given to the following:

Furry Friends Rockin’ Rescue, Lincoln, N.D.

Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library, Bismarck, N.D.

Ellendale Opera House, Ellendale, N.D.

Kedish House, Ellendale, N.D.

The recording of the service will be posted here.