Lee Bollinger

Frank Lee Bollinger was born April 20th, 1941, into an early Nichols Hills family. His father, John Jacob, a general contractor, spent his life constructing buildings, libraries and schools in Oklahoma, including the downtown post office, John Marshall High School, and Baptist Hospital and was a founder of Nichols Hills Methodist Church. His mother Elizabeth, a committed homemaker and an avid bridge player, raised Lee and his sister Geraldine. Lee, who died suddenly, was an early student at Casady School where his lifelong curiosity for learning began when Mr. Guernicky taught him how the Romans conquered the world. At the University of Oklahoma, he majored in English and History before going on to law school. The old law barn, Monet Hall, was home for the next three years. Lee's fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, and OU game days were a formative part of his college days. While at OU Law School, Lee met Gale Parker, the love of his life, and they married in 1966 in her hometown of Beckville, Texas. He served in the Judge Advocate General Branch of the Army Reserves and worked as a Trust Officer with the First National Bank and Trust Company. Lee was a voracious reader, and in 1972, he and Gale decided to enter the book business. Bollinger's Books was situated in a prime spot directly across from the movie theater in the newly built North Park Mall. The business thrived, and Lee and Gale began hosting book and author dinners and attending yearly conferences put on by the American Bookstore Association. In the spring of 1992 they moved the store to a 15, 000 square foot, free-standing location on May Avenue and opened an adjoining cafe. Friday-night jazz, combined with an endless stream of publicity, made Bollingers' the place to be. Lee became an active member and participant of the American Booksellers Association. He served as the organizations' executive director from 1989 – 1994. He also served as director and president of the Oklahoma Booksellers Association. But family run stores were closing up all across the country as the big chains moved in. Bollinger's was soon sandwiched by superstores. And so in 1998, after twenty-eight years, Lee closed the bookstore and rented out the space. He took the test to become a commercial real estate agent with a specialty in retail and investment property and began a new career. In 2006, at the age of 64, after four consecutive years of one-week training sessions and four, five-hour tests, Lee earned his Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) accreditation. He was the oldest person to pass the test that year. He was affiliated with NAI Sullivan Group the remainder of his life. Throughout his years, Lee was passionate about serving his community. He served on Oklahoma City Beautiful for which he received the Morrison Tucker volunteer of the year award in 2014. He was a member of Northwest Oklahoma City Rotary and served as a Director for Prevention of Blindness, Oklahoma County Community Literacy Center and Shakespeare in the Park. He served as president and trustee of the Oklahoma Library Endowment Trust, and the Board of Visitors of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma. He was currently serving as a volunteer consultant to non-profits for ESCCO, Executive Service Corps of Oklahoma. He was an early member of Chapel Hill Methodist Church where he served as past Chairman and member of the Board of Trustees. He was also a long time member of the Oklahoma City Men's Dinner Club, Economic Club, and the Boat Club. Lee was a life-long skier, tennis player, and gardener. He loved museums, travel and languages. And he especially enjoyed his monthly book club (perhaps because it met over cocktails at the Metro), lunches with his Beta "band of brothers", fly-fishing trips with his buddies, Lake Murvaul, and trips to see his grandsons in Brooklyn and High Falls. Lee is survived by his wife of 49 years, Gale, daughter Caroline and her husband Dr. Thomas Johnstone, grandsons Parker and Peter of Brooklyn, NY, sister Geraldine Raupe, niece Karen Raupe Hanstein and her children Tanner and Katie, nephew Steve Raupe, and his children Justin, Tyler, Ashley, and Evan, sister-in-law Jean Kelly, her son Ryan Kelly, his wife Angela and their children Carson and Ava. He was preceded in death by his parents, dear brothers-in-law Dave Raupe and J.C. Kelly and nephew Trent Kelly. The family wishes to thank Dr. Ron White and OU Medical Center for their thoughtful and compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, donations honoring Lee can be made to Chapel Hill Methodist Church, 2717 W Hefner Rd, Oklahoma City, OK 73120, or the Oklahoma Alzheimer's Association, 2448 E. 81st St., Suite 3000, Tulsa, OK 74137.