O.C. and Pat have been synonymous with charitable giving in the Fox Valley. He was a founding board member of the Community Foundation and one of our early presidents. He also served on many committees here over the years. “The Foundation will continue to succeed,” O.C. once said, “if it keeps selecting as members of its board people who want to do good without expecting recognition or personal gain from their service. With that kind of leadership, then you can attract a lot of other people to do what’s right.”

With dedication, entrepreneurship and consummate business ethics, O.C. spent more than half a century transforming Boldt Co., the family business his grandfather founded in 1889, into one of the nation’s largest and most highly respected construction firms.

In addition to working his full time job of building a company, he and his wife Pat took on another full time job of helping to build the communities in which he worked. They are benefactors of countless charitable organizations touching the arts, children, healthcare, education, and the environment. He volunteered in leadership roles on the boards of Appleton Medical Center, the Community Foundation, and Lawrence University, and was an active member of Appleton Rotary. He was honored during his lifetime with numerous awards from the University of Wisconsin and other institutions, and was inducted into the Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame in 2003.

Tom Boldt with his father, O.C., at the Community Foundation’s 2016 Celebrating Volunteers event.

In a note to the company’s 2,000 team members nationwide, CEO Tom Boldt said of his father:
“My Dad was extremely proud of all our field and office employees. He loved the company and the positive impact it has had on so many customers and communities. He was excited about what we will be capable of in the future.  And, he wanted us to have fun doing it!”

He impacted all of us.

Even at 96, O.C. continued to actively serve on committees within the Community Foundation. The couple established the O.C. and Pat Boldt Fund in 1988 to do some of their personal giving.

Other charitable funds within the Community Foundation established by the Boldts include the O.C. and Pat Boldt Limited Emergency Relief Fund to provide ongoing support for LEAVEN, Dorothy A. Boldt Fund ftbo Mount Olive Ev. Lutheran Church, Pat Boldt Fox Valley Symphony Fund and Patricia Boldt Fund for Women Administrative Endowment from within the Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region.

The Boldts are part of our Himebaugh Legacy Circle, assuring the causes they care about will continue to have support forever.

You can make an impact on the people and projects that matter to you long after you are no longer here. The Himebaugh Legacy Circle recognizes those who have made future plans for their favorite charitable causes through a bequest or similar deferred gift to the Foundation.