This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
When people talk about the late Donald “Don” Boller, it’s often mentioned about the fact that he and his wife, Lois, owned the State College Dairy Queen for nearly half a century.
But what’s also mentioned is the way he made people feel when they walked through the door. They were welcomed, appreciated and part of something bigger than themselves.
For nearly 47 years, the couple served up more than soft-serve cones on North Atherton Street. They served their community.
Boller died on Oct. 5, 2025. He was 88.
From supporting Penn State hockey to providing space for local ambulance crews, Boller built a legacy of kindness that has touched generations.
“He was just a guy that would do pretty much anything for anyone at any time,” said Scott Rawson, Executive Director of Centre LifeLink EMS. “If we needed something, he’d be right on the phone to help. He even gave us a garage for one of our ambulances in Patton Township, right next to the Dairy Queen. The crews loved it! They could go next door, and Don would tell them to grab some ice cream out of the freezer.”
Rawson met Boller in 1997 and quickly learned that the man who served ice cream by day was also deeply rooted in community service. As a board member for Centre LifeLink, Boller chaired the public affairs committee for 14 years, leading campaigns and building relationships that helped keep emergency services strong.
He also found time to support countless community causes from EMS Week to local schools and charity drives. He was also a member of the Mesonic Lodge. His efforts were quiet and never seeking recognition.
“He was just a big-hearted friend to the community,” Rawson said. “He’d be at church every Sunday, cheering for Penn State hockey that night. My kids loved him. Everybody did.”
For former Penn State Icers coach Joe Battista, Don and Lois Boller were fixtures at Greenberg Ice Pavilion, sitting in the same top-row seats for two decades.
“Anybody who ever came to the old Greenberg knew the Bollers,” Battista said. “They were like family to us. Don did giveaways every year — Dairy Queen hockey pucks, Dilly Bars — you name it. He loved making people happy.”
Battista recalled how Boller would sponsor youth hockey, attend championship celebrations and welcome the team into his store as if they were part of his extended family.
“He just loved the game, loved the people,” Battista said. “He was gregarious. Always smiling, always giving. But he could be a tough businessman too. He wasn’t a pushover, just someone who cared deeply about doing things right.”
Boller’s grandson, Chris Boone, remembers the same qualities. Perhaps not as a coach or community leader, but as a kid riding along in the Dairy Queen van.
“I’d go with him when he’d deliver ice cream to schools and ballfields,” Boone said. “He supported every event you could think of. It wasn’t about money. It was about community.”
Boone said his grandfather never bragged about what he did.
“He was humble to the core,” he said. “There’s a mural in town with him in it, and I didn’t even know until I was standing in line one night and realized that was him. When I asked, he just said, ‘Yeah, that’s me,’ like it was nothing.”
That modesty extended to everything Boller touched, including Patton Township, where he served for years helping shape local development and even played a role in creating the Toftrees interchange.
But perhaps the most enduring symbol of his spirit isn’t found in an office or on a wall. It’s in Boone’s backyard, where a refurbished three-horse carousel once spun outside the old Dairy Queen.
“At my kids’ birthday parties, people will see it and say, ‘I remember riding one just like this at Dairy Queen,’” Boone said. “And I tell them, ‘That’s the one.’ It still brings joy, just like he did.”
Boller may have passed, but his generosity still ripples through Centre County in the smiles of families, the roar of a hockey crowd and the quiet hum of an ambulance that once parked beside his shop.
“He wasn’t just part of this community,” Boone said. “He helped build it.”
