Citadel Alumni Obituaries

Edward Keith Boosembark lost his long battle with prostate cancer on
Jan. 15, 2009, with his wife by his side. Ed was born June 28, 1952, in
Waco, Texas, the son of Kathleen and Franklin Boosembark. Ed’s father
was in the military, so he lived various places growing up. He graduated
from Lompoc High School in 1970 and spent one year at The Citadel.
Realizing that was not his forte, he finished college at the University
of Oklahoma: ‘Go Sooners.’ After graduation from the University of
Oklahoma, he and two other friends rode their bicycles from Oklahoma to
Davis, and within a year he made this his home. He went to work with the
family business and spent 26 years running Bernard’s Tire, Brake &
Alignment, an automotive repair shop in Davis. Ed met his wife at
Bernard’s and after a three-week courtship they married on Dec. 2, 1978
in Reno, NV. A year and a half later their daughter Nicole was born. Ed
was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December 2000. He continued
working and battling this cancer until 2006, when it became obvious that
he needed to focus totally on fighting for his life, while spending as
much quality time with his wife and daughter as he could, and so he
retired. Ed loved retirement since he was able to spend all his time
with his wife and Newfoundlands. He so enjoyed getting to know the dogs
better. He also was able to take many trips to New York to spend time
with his daughter. Unfortunately, Ed was never able to make his last
trip planned to Ithaca, N.Y., in the fall of 2008. Ed loved to read,
especially about history and the Civil War. He spent many years painting
lead soldiers to replicate old battle scenes and are now prominently
displayed in cabinets for his loved ones to look at and remember. He
loved college football, especially Cornell Big Red and University of
Oklahoma Sooners. Ed followed Cornell hockey and he once paid $100 to
see a Cornell University/Harvard game where ‘fish are thrown by
Cornellians out onto the ice because New Jersey smells.’ Horse racing
was a favorite, and in 2007 he and his son-in-law (Michael Baker) spent
an amazing weekend at the Saratoga race track, which was truly a
highlight and a dream come true. Ed was able to give his one-and-only
daughter away on her wedding day, which will always be cherished. A
defining moment in his life was meeting back up with a fellow Citadel
classmate Preston ‘Doc’ Mitchell. Ed was able to fly to Pound, Va., and
spend time with him and ‘Doc’ also was able to visit here twice. The
last time he was here, Ed was hospitalized suddenly hours before his
arrival, and ‘Doc’ spent his whole visit there, which really brought
Ed’s spirits up. Ed was able to see the whole Oklahoma game on Jan. 8
with his dear friends and neighbors who came to watch with him. Ed
especially appreciated his neighbors popping in to visit and check on
him. Ed never could accept the fact that his life would be cut short by
cancer and he carried that around for eight years, all the while
fighting it with every ounce of strength and bravery. Ed’s pride and joy
was his daughter. Ed was so proud of the fine young woman she had grown
to be and he so enjoyed her company. They spent an extended amount of
time together the past month and a half and that made him so happy. He
was always so worried that he would miss his wife and daughter so much
when he was gone and that any future grandchildren would never get to
know him. Ed had the ability to talk about any subject with anybody,
which is quite a gift. Ed was a great man full of life. As a dear friend
wrote on hearing of his passing, ‘Ed’s life was well-lived. He had a
zest for life, a generous heart, he was caring and compassionate, he was
honest, hard-working.’ Those words are what Ed was made of and he will
be deeply missed. Married over 30 years, he will be greatly missed by
his wife Margaret, daughter, Nicole Boosembark-Baker and Newfoundland
Statler. Ed is also survived by his mother, Kathleen Boosembark, his
brother William Boosembark and his sister Pamela Lovejoy. A celebration
of his life will begin at 3 p.m. Jan. 24 at St. Martin’s Episcopal
Church in Davis, CA, 640 Hawthorne Lane. In lieu of flowers, please
donate in Edward K. Boosembark’s name to the Thoroughbred Retirement
Foundation (www.trfinc.org), P.O. Box 3387, Saratoga Spring, N.Y. 12866.

Tags: 1974