For the first time in 27 years, Ottavio “Peppi” Bolognese was not physically on Boylston Street in the days leading up to the Boston Marathon, where he traditionally installed the race’s iconic finish line.

Instead, his daughter, Nicole Bolognese, and grandson, Luke Bolognese, carried on his legacy as the Accurate Graphics team installed the finish line, with his portrait watching over them nearby.

“Everything that he embodied was family, legacy, hardworking, passionate. He always said if things get tough, dig deeper,” Nicole told the Swampscott Tides. “My dad was so happy for (Luke) to take on the business. He always wanted his legacy to go on, especially the tradition of the finish line. It’s an iconic race. It’s an iconic finish line. To be able to continue that, it’s wonderful.”

Bolognese died October 1 at age 82 after a long battle with glioblastoma.

“He fought his battle with cancer with grace and laughter and tenacity, and he never gave up,” Nicole said. “His smile was just always there and present. You never saw my dad in a bad mood.”

He grew up in East Boston, where he met his future wife, Maureen Therese, in kindergarten, according to his obituary. After graduating from East Boston High School, he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps alongside childhood friends.

In Swampscott, where he raised his family, Bolognese became a well-known fixture, coaching youth hockey and Babe Ruth baseball. An athlete himself, Bolognese played hockey, baseball and football in his youth.

“That was just who he was. He taught so many different people in this town and coached,” Nicole said. 

His love for sports – especially for the Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics and Patriots – was able to continue within his work. Bolognese spent over 40 years in the sign business, providing graphics and installations of corporate and custom signage. Accurate Graphics, based in Lynn, became known for the iconic Boston Marathon finish line.

“Something had happened in the Chicago Marathon, where somebody fell, and they had slipped and got a concussion, didn’t realize they won until after. The board that runs the marathon reached out to Boston and…said you have to find a way to have nonslip material,” Nicole said, adding that once her father was asked to do the work, “my dad said, ‘absolutely, let’s do it.’”

The finish line, typically installed the Thursday before the race, is made with a non-skid surface to prevent runners from slipping. It is painted only after the marathon so it remains visible year-round, Nicole said.

As Luke and his Accurate Graphics team were placing down the line this year, Nicole made sure the picture of Bolognese that was used at his wake was brought to Boylston Street as well. Nicole said all ten Boston Athletic Association representatives she met knew who Bolognese was and were “so excited to see him there” through the memorial photo.

“It caused a frenzy, which is wonderful. We didn’t realize how many people would’ve been impacted,” Nicole said. “I wanted us to have my dad there. This was his favorite day of the year.”

After the 2013 marathon bombing, Nicole said the race took on even deeper meaning for her father.

“Boston strong. He wanted nothing to ever stop it,” Nicole said. “One year they did the finish line with masks on because they had to.” 

It was so much of a highlight of Bolognese’s year that last year’s marathon was his last major install.

“He did not want to miss the marathon at all,” Nicole said. “He was still in chemo at the time…He did not want to miss that last year. That’s just who he was.”

Nicole noted that last year the team was trapped behind the barricade due to an ongoing police situation with an animal last year. There’s an “iconic picture,” she said, that Boston.com took of Bolognese with Luke. The two stand, leaning on the metal gate barricades in their highlighter yellow safety jackets. Bolognese looks like he’s planning and explaining the tasks, as his one hand is out directing as he talks to Luke, who is intensely watching his grandfather and listening. 

“That was really my dad passing the torch,” she said. “That was such a teaching moment that I actually had it framed for them for Father’s Day and gave it to my nephew too. I love the picture so much because it really was everything my dad stood for: teaching, coaching, and passion. He didn’t have to be there, he was undergoing chemotherapy for his brain tumor, but that didn’t stop him.”

So Nicole and her nephew Luke made sure Bolognese was at the finish line set up once more on Thursday, April 16.

“To be able to see him take everything on with grace and not miss a beat is really, really special,” Nicole said. “It’s exactly what my dad wanted. He’d be so proud of him. We’re all so proud of him. It’s exciting to see this continue in the family.”