Prominent Ellington Auto Industry Entrepreneur Passes Away

ELLINGTON, CT — An auto entrepreneur who owned a prominent car dealership in town as well as several other smaller shops has passed away.

Edward Bolles died on Saturday at the age of 86, according to his obituary.

He and his wife, Carmel, bought a dilapidated farm house in Ellington and the family raised numerous breeds of animals and his children showed beef cattle, pigs and sheep in local 4-H fairs and at the BIG-E.

Ed and Carmel raised black Labrador Retrievers and owned Ellington Kennels for many years.

He was an electrician after serving in the Korean War, but during a lull in the building industry in the mid-1970s, he began working on local farm machinery. He enlisted his son-in-law Ron, his sons Brian and Thomas, daughters Doreen and Darlene and Carmel to work in their backyard auto and farm repair business.

He then turned to the automobile industry full-time, and owned Ed Bolles Enterprises, the parent company for Ellington Mobil, Somers Mobil, Bolles Motors of Ellington, Bolles Chrysler Dodge Jeep of Stafford and Kar Kare Carstar of Ellington.

See more about his obituary here.

Photo Credit: Patch, Smann and Pietras Funeral Home.