BOGGS, William La"bert"

William Labert “Bert” Boggs blessed this earth on April 6, 1916 born at 8 in the morning (birth certificate) his physician being W.H. Ross, both parents age 27 and passed Sept 15, 1982, the son of Robert William Ira (his father Ira and mother Susanna Fine) and Dot Campbell Boggs. Sadly, his father passed early on 13 July in 1942, (born at Wallace 25 July 1888) his mother living 30 more years. Ira served as the Post Master at Veedersburg for eight years and also began a newspaper business (his wife, Dot helping not only him but later their only child, the subject of our sketch). Between the whole family, they were in the newspaper business for 42 years. They owned the Veedersburg News, Hillsboro Times, the Country Cousin and briefly the Covington Friend. They did job printing and also owned an office equipment store. Upon his father’s passing, Bert and his wife Lorama Wiese took over the family business. They had moved back just the year before and Bert was a manager with Dupont. They had been up north where he had taught music in LaPorte and Mishawaka schools. Music was his true love, it seems. He toured Europe by playing as a band member on the steamships, Laconia and the famed Aquitannia. A graduate of the University of Illinois (1938 where he was president of Alpha Tau Omega) his major was of course Music. Throughout his life, he loved music, particularly jazz. He played professionally in jazz bands in Danville, Illinois for more than 20 years and started several impromptu groups in Fountain County. Bert began entertaining early on having given readings, playing his instrument and vocal selections from age nine on. He was an active worker, being the Publicity Chair in Fountain’s War Loan Drive 1944, he having worked each of the four years. He had a major knowledge of the local town bands – wish he’d have written down and shared! Their daughter, Judie, was an ISU grad and taught at Danville Jr. College where she was overseer of the school paper and son, Jon also an ISU grad was played in the college brass section and at the time was the only undergraduate in the band– appropriate!!