Marshall “Sandy” Grant Bolster, Jr., passed away peacefully on April 2, 2023 at the age of 77. Sandy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 19, 1946 and was the fourth child, and only son, of Catherine and Marshall Bolster, Sr.

Sandy was raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts, attended Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard University in 1968. While at Harvard, Sandy rowed with the men’s crew team and had the honor of winning the Henley Royal Regatta, Thames Challenge Cup with the team in 1966. After graduation, Sandy joined the Navy and served as an officer.

Sandy was known by his family and friends for his keen intellect and, above all else, his love of sailing. His connection to the sea began at a young age being blessed with summers spent in East Boothbay, Maine. He spent his adolescent and teenage years exploring the waters around Boothbay by skiff and sailboat in all kinds of weather, likely causing his mother great worry, but having a great deal of fun.

Sandy made boats his life – both by occupation and for pleasure. He worked at boatyards from Maine to Florida (as a fine woodworker, diver, rigger and everything in between), chartered his sailboat for tourists in the summer out of Camden and Surry and even owned a boat building shop at one point where he built wooden dories. Sandy owned too many sailboats over the years for his family to count and spent countless hours and often months at a time cruising Penobscot Bay and the Caribbean.

On two occasions Sandy sailed into Cuba for extended stays. Always a seeker of knowledge and a greater understanding of people and the world, those times living aboard a boat in Cuba were particularly meaningful to him. He always said it was about the people, who he found to be kind, open and welcoming.

In addition to his love of the sea, Sandy was an avid reader, loved playing hockey and rooting for the Patriots. He could talk for hours and loved spending time with friends – telling stories, discussing politics or the latest book he was reading, or playing poker. Sandy will be remembered by those who knew and loved him as a devoted friend, passionate conversationalist and, as his grandson says, a “mighty sailor.”

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” ― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Sandy is survived by his wife and compadre, Thia Belajonas; his daughter Heddy Snyder and her husband, Kurt Snyder, of Rockport, Maine; his daughter Catherine Bolster and her husband, Kris Allen, of Bozeman, Montana; his grandchildren, Logan and Halen Snyder and Irelyn, Vivian and Wilder Allen; his sister Alice Hatch, of Concord, Massachusetts, and many loving nieces, nephews, step-children and step-grandchildren.

He was predeceased by his second wife, Sue Straubing.

There will be a celebration of life on Monday, April 10, at 4 p.m., at the Samoset Resort in Rockport.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Rockport Boat Club Youth Sailing Scholarship Program on Sandy’s behalf at https://rockportboatclub.wildapricot.org/Donate or at Rockport Boat Club, P.O. Box 254, Rockport, ME 04856.