John L. Bosshart

John Lee Bosshart Just short of 88 years old, World War II veteran, husband of Inez (nee Laudenschlager) for 56 years, and father of five children, John L. Bosshart, known to friends and relatives as "Bud," died peacefully in the early morning of May 18 of complications from cancer. Born in Chicago, IL, in 1925, Bud attended St. George High School in Evanston, IL, graduated in 1943 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He served as a tail gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress in the 8th Air Force in England and the 15th Air Force in southern Italy, completing 27 missions over occupied Europe. On his last mission, in March of 1945, Bud's plane was disabled by enemy flak and made an emergency landing in liberated Poland. Reported missing in action, Bud and his plane's crew made it back to Italy via Poltava in the Ukraine, Tehran and Cairo. After the war, Bud studied mechanical engineering on the GI Bill at the Illinois Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelors degree in 1949. Working several years for IBM, he transferred in 1957 to Sun Electric Corporation, located in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago and which later moved to Crystal Lake, IL. He worked there for 26 years, rising to Chief Engineer and designing test systems for automotive and aerospace applications. During these years, Bud and his wife Inez raised their family in Rolling Meadows and Arlington Heights. Forced to leave Sun during the recession of the early 1980s, Bud and Inez moved to Coral Springs, FL, in 1984, where he worked for the Jensen Corporation designing hydraulic presses for commercial laundries. Both jobs took him on multiple business trips to Western Europe, a region for which he developed a lasting affinity that several of his children inherited. Bud was passionately devoted to three successive hobbies - tropical fish, winemaking, and orchid-raising. He brought his family into these activities and was active in social clubs devoted to them. Bud was famous for his love of steak and roast beef (medium rare) and the "old fashioned" cocktail. Bud retired in 1994. He and his wife instilled in their children a strong sense of achievement, responsibility and caring. Inez passed away in 2006, and Bud moved back to the Chicago area in 2009. He is survived by his sister Jean White; children Michael, Patrick, Scott, Jennifer and Bridget; and six grandchildren. Family and friends will miss him deeply. Funeral services will be held Friday, May 24, at 10:00 AM at Queen of All Saints Basilica in Chicago. In lieu of flowers, contributions are welcome to your preferred cancer or veterans charity.

John L. Bosshart

June 3, 1925 - May 18, 2013