John A. "Jack" Boehm

MADISON-John A. "Jack" Boehm, age 85, of Madison, passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016, at Agrace HospiceCare in Fitchburg. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Aloysius "Al" and Ida (Weber) Boehm, and grew up in the German-American community of St. Bernard. Several years ago during a hospitalization for a serious infection compounded by other chronic health problems, one of Jack's doctors, in marvel of yet another recovery, told him, "Mr. Boehm, you have nine lives." And he did, living a long life, stoically battling health challenges, and living to see his grandchildren go to college. Along the way, Jack made new friends, partook of many gourmet meals, fine wine and liqueurs, enjoyed a brat and beer, and was a Dallas Cowboys fan and an Ohio State Buckeyes fan till the last day of his life, departing this world just after their respective victories over the Packers and the Badgers. Jack was the second of five children, with older sister Ida Mae, younger brothers Ken and Roger, and youngest sister, Mary Anne, who died of complications from strep throat at the age of nine. Jack was close to his mother's maiden sisters, Mayme and Carrie Weber, as well as her brother, George Weber, a bachelor and head of the family-owned Weber Dairy. Jack liked to tell the story of Uncle George's frequent visits, when he would offer a quarter to the winner of a fist fight between Jack and his brothers. Shortly after the action began, Jack's mother would come out and send them all to bed for misbehaving, leaving George in peace to enjoy his evening and the homemade beer from the basement. As a child, Jack attended St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary and Roger Bacon High School and spent his early working years at different jobs, including at the Weber Dairy, as a hospital orderly, and with his father in the family business of preparing wood to be made into furniture, where he stoked the fires to steam-treat the wood. He had funny memories of his German relatives, recalling one at Weber Dairy saying, "I come to work to be a workesman." Just prior to the Great Depression, Jack's father, Al bought a lumber mill in Huntington, West Virginia, and moved the family there. They lost everything when the stock market crashed, and Jack carried those memories with him, recalling delivering newspapers with his brothers for a quarter and grocery store flyers for a nickel, with the merchant paying him out in candy rather than cash. In his early twenties, Jack became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force, completing his basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. Granted time off the base one evening, Jack and his buddies got lost returning, and were five minutes late. As discipline, they were made to walk "squares" around the courtyard for several hours in full uniform, something he laughed about years later. Jack met his former wife, Joyce (Day) while stationed at Potter AFB in Amarillo, Texas. They married on Nov. 25, 1962, and divorced in 1988 after 25 years of marriage. Joyce preceded Jack in death on Oct. 19, 2015. Stationed at several U.S. bases during his 30-year career, Jack, who was a B-52 radar navigator with Strategic Air Command (SAC), flew 24-hour missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis, repeatedly circling up to the Arctic and down to Cuba in an air armada, waiting for the command to take the missiles out. He served several tours of duty in the Vietnam War, spending up to a year away from his family each time. Jack also served SAC as chief of Bombing Navigation Systems (Bomb-Nav) and retired as a highly-decorated Lieutenant Colonel from Castle AFB in Atwater, Calif., having served his country with great distinction and sacrifice. Starting life as a civilian in Fort Worth, Jack began a new profession as a petroleum landman, spending many hours in the courthouses of Texas and on family porches deciphering who owned the mineral rights of land that oil companies wanted to drill. He enjoyed that work and recalled some land owners disputing their relatives' mineral rights with statements such as, "We voted him out of the family years ago." After 20 years in the petroleum industry, Jack retired from Burlington Northern/Conoco in the late 1990s and retired to Madison, Wisc. to be near his son Brian's family, living here for sixteen years. A devout Catholic, Jack sponsored several charities benefiting children in developing countries and kept up with the children he sponsored and their educational progress. He was also keenly concerned that his grandchildren receive the best possible education and went to great lengths to provide for them. Jack always wanted to know about their courses of study, activities, and travels and took great pride in their accomplishments. Jack is survived by his son, Brian (Angela Kinderman) Boehm and their son, Clayton all of New Glarus; daughter, Denise (Bill Pohl) Boehm and her daughter, Erin Walters all of Fort Collins, Colo.; long-time companion, Bonnie Hoffman; brother, Roger Boehm, and multiple nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Mary Anne Boehm and Ida Mae Huffman; and brother, Ken Boehm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC CHURCH, 602 Everglade Dr., Madison, at 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28, 2016, with Fr. Bart Timmerman presiding. Visitation will be held at the church from 12 Noon until the time of the Mass on Friday. Burial with military honors will follow the Mass at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison. A Celebration of Jack's life will immediately follow the burial at DELANEYS, 449 Grand Canyon Dr., Madison. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson Fitchburg Funeral & Cremation Care 2950 Chapel Valley Rd. (608)442-5002