A memorial service will be held Saturday, December 15, at 1:00 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church of Arlington, Va.

Cynthia (Cindy) Bolbach, Moderator of the 219th General Assembly (2010), died peacefully on December 12, 2012, after fighting a brave, nearly yearlong battle with cancer. She would have turned 65 on December 27.

A ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Bolbach was elected Moderator on the fourth ballot as the only ruling elder in a field of six candidates. In a July 4, 2010, news release, Jerry Van Marter of the Presbyterian News Service (PNS) said that Bolbach’s brief answers and her “winsome sense of humor” won over the General Assembly commissioners.

“Cindy Bolbach was one of the most authentic faith leaders I have ever known,” said the Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly. “She had a huge capacity for grace and conviction. She loved to laugh and to listen. She was the best of us in every way.”

Bolbach was born and raised in Lancaster County, Pa., where she was baptized and confirmed as a Lutheran. Predestined at an early age to be part of the Reformed tradition, she had a hamster named Luther and a guinea pig named Calvin. She became a Presbyterian when she joined New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., where she was ordained as a deacon and elder and served as clerk of session. After moving to Arlington, Va., in the mid-1980s, Bolbach transferred her membership to First Presbyterian Church, where she was also elected as clerk of session. At the General Assembly level, Bolbach most recently served as co-moderator of the Form of Government Task Force (2006-2010).

A graduate of Wittenberg University (Ohio) and Georgetown University Law Center, Bolbach served as executive vice president and corporate secretary of BNA, Inc., formerly the oldest company in the United States owned entirely by its more than 1,600 employees prior to its acquisition last year by Bloomberg.

When Bolbach was diagnosed with cancer in February 2012 following abdominal surgery, Parsons immediately called Presbyterians to prayer as she began treatment.

In an interview with PNS on June 26, during a break from her chemotherapy, Bolbach said, “I’ve been so uplifted by the outpouring of prayers by so many people. I’m astonished at how many people really care.” She told PNS that she planned to mention her illness during her sermon during opening worship at the Assembly, where she preached on the same text referenced in her platform speech as candidate for moderator in 2010.

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