Richard Bollinger

Richard M. Bollinger was President of the Derby-Shelton Rotary Club for Rotary Year 1936-1937. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut May 28, 1902 son of Matthew J. and Ida Bollinger. He was a first generation American as his father came to Connecticut from Switzerland and his mother from England in the late 1800s. He spent his entire professional career in retail furniture sales. He started working for Lee Brothers Furniture at their Bridgeport store becoming a department manager in 1930. Lee Brothers Company was a very large organization with headquarters in New York City specializing in furniture storage and shipping. They established a retail furniture store at 57 Elizabeth Street in Derby in 1933 with Richard Bollinger as Store Manager. 

He later became a Vice President in the Lee Brothers Company and continued as manager of the Derby store until the store closed in 1955. He then joined Howard & Barber Department Store at 268 Main Street in Derby as merchandise manager of furniture, floor coverings and housewares. He was elected Secretary of the organization reporting to President and Treasurer Arthur M. Reed, another Rotary President. He served as President of the Derby Business Association in 1947. After Howard & Barber closed its doors in the early 1960s he worked for a brief time for Carlson Furniture in Naugatuck and then retired to his north Trumbull home. Richard M. Bollinger died in Milford December 10, 1986 at the age of 84.