Colonel Bernard William Boshoven, USAF (Ret.), 79, passed away in Tucson, Arizona, on February 16, 2014, after suffering a massive heart attack. He was born in 1934 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from Central High School, Ben received his Bachelor of Science and commission from the US Naval Academy in 1956. He then married his high school sweetheart, Ruth Riddering and began his career as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. Over the next 27 years, he logged more than 4300 flight hours, including 178 combat missions in Southeast Asia in his F-100 Super Sabre. He also flew the A-7 during his time in South Carolina, where he served as the Squadron Commander for the 355th Combat Support Group in Myrtle Beach, SC. He was Deputy Base Commander of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, AZ and the Base Commander of George Air Force Base in Victorville, CA. His decorations included the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Air Medal with 2 Silver Oak Leaf Clusters.
After 27 years of meritorious service to his country, he retired to Tucson, AZ in 1983. He continued in the private sector, using his expertise to still serve our country, by working as database manager for the Electromagnetic Environmental Test Facility at Fort Huachuca and later as test director for Operational Test and Evaluation of upgrades to fighter aircraft at the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Test Center in Tucson.
Fully retiring in 1996, Ben and his family spent a lot of time water skiing at Apache Lake northeast of Phoenix, where he kept a ski boat, and hunting elk and deer in the White Mountains and quail throughout the desert. Ben started construction of an extremely detailed model of the USS Constitution while a midshipman and completed it in 2006, as he proudly stated in the Golden Lucky Bag of the Class of 1956.
Ben was predeceased by his wife Ruth in 1998 and is survived by their 3 sons, Mark (Laura), Jeff (Wendy) and Eric (Melanie), 9 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren and his faithful 3-legged companion, Dixie. Memorial contributions in Ben's name may be made to: Airman Family Readiness Center c/o Wounded Warriors Program, 5355 E. Granite St. Bldg. 2441 Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ 85707.
