Richard Owen Bollam

Watervliet-Richard Owen Bollam, 78, passed away on June 29, 2022, after a courageous struggle with dementia. He was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada on February 29, 1944, to the late Owen Jack Bollam and Katherine Beatrice Lockerman Bollam.

After his father's service in the Royal Canadian Air Force and the end of World War II, the family moved to his father's hometown in England for a few years before ultimately settling on Long Island, NY; Rich often reminisced about his childhood and his parents' flower business, "Hillside Nurseries," in Huntington, LI. He graduated from Harborfields High School in 1962 and attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. After graduating from RPI with a BS in Physics in 1966, he worked at Grumman Aircraft as an electro-optical engineer while simultaneously earning his MS in Applied Physics from Adelphi University. He then earned his MBA from the University of Rochester in 1972. After moving to Albany and working for a large, national accounting firm for 6 years, Rich joined a smaller firm, which soon became Bollam, Sheedy, Torani (BST). He specialized in finance and accounting for medical groups, and immensely enjoyed his work and friendships at BST for over 40 years. Rich enthusiastically participated in many civic organizations, including the Business Council of NYS and the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce. He was especially active in the RPI community, serving as a board member of the Rensselaer Alumni Association and his Theta Chi Fraternity Alumni Board. In 2015, Rich was honored by the Rensselaer Alumni Association with its Distinguished Service Award, the highest award bestowed upon an RPI alumnus.

Rich was a wonderful husband, father and "Grampa B." He was a generous man, an advocate for all those he loved, and a hard worker, whether managing clients at BST, landscaping his yard, or obtaining donations for RPI or Theta Chi. He enjoyed gathering friends together, particularly classmates and fraternity brothers, and routinely organized mini-reunions in both New York and Florida. Rich loved outdoor activity, including biking and golfing, kayaking and water sports, and hiking and nature walks. He will be remembered for his dedication to family; his smile, sarcasm, and sense of humor; his treasure hunts for his grandkids; his loyalty to BST, RPI and Theta Chi; his robust rendition of "Mustang Sally"; his love of British humor, Motown music, family travel, his exercise routine, and an occasional Stewart's ice cream sundae.

He is survived by Stephanie DeSimone Bollam, his loving wife of 53 years, whom he married April 4, 1969. He is also survived by his daughter, Hillary (AJ) Siebeneck of Saratoga Springs; son, Jeremy (Rebecca) Bollam of North Greenbush; grandchildren, Ellie, Maddie and Jack Siebeneck, and William and Emily Bollam; and sister, Carol (James) Hosmer of Wrentham, MA. The family would like to thank all of Rich's devoted caregivers at Peregrine in Colonie and the Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center in Troy.

Family and friends are invited to attend a memorial service on Thursday, July 14 at 1 pm at the First
United Methodist Church of East Greenbush, 1 Gilligan Road, East Greenbush, NY, 12061.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to either the Rensselaer Alumni Association, Gift Processing Center, P.O. Box 3164, Boston, MA 02241-3164 (in memory of Mr. Richard O. Bollam '66), or the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy (in memory of Richard Bollam).

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