Tribute

BOUGHNER, Ralph Thomas (Tom)
(December 6, 1946 – December 3, 2018)

Tom passed away peacefully with his loving family at his side after a two-year battle with metastatic cancer. Oldest son of the late Jack and Lillian (Mason) Boughner, both of Walsh, ON, Tom was also predeceased by his two younger brothers Jim and John. Left to cherish his memory is his best friend of 46 years, Cecille (Marion) Boughner, daughter Jennifer of Winnipeg, and sons Todd (Dallas) of Calgary and Joseph (Amy) of Ottawa. Also missing him but having so many memories are his two precious granddaughters Chelsea and Maggie. Tom is also survived by his sister-in-law Janie Boughner, father-in-law Joe Marion, in-laws Dave and Deana Marion, Doug and Frances Marion, Jeff and Lucille Marion, Liz and Bill Lundstrom, Yvonne and Wayne Kerr, Mollie and Robert Kamm and Carol and Bob Gardam along with twelve nephews and eight nieces, surviving cousins and one uncle.

Tom graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He enjoyed a fulfilling career in six locations, coast to coast, in chemical pulp manufacturing.  Complementing his technological skills in pulping, Tom brought his people leadership skills into play, making him an industry-respected operations management leader. A career-long commitment to knowledge sharing led to his life membership in the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada, Professional Engineers of Ontario, Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering and Professional Engineers of British Columbia.

Tom also dedicated spare time over 30 years to minor hockey coaching. His focus was not only on teaching hockey technique but emphasizing development of citizenship skills.

Never much of a golfer until moving to the coast, he really caught the spirit of the game at Arbutus Ridge and especially enjoyed playing Friday mornings with the Friday Gentlemen Golfers gang.

After joining the Catholic Church in 1988, he became actively involved as Pastoral Council chair and numerous parish leadership roles in Fort Frances, ON, Quispamsis NB, Prince Rupert, Mackenzie and Duncan BC.

Never one to hold himself back from the challenge of greener pastures, Tom served as town chairman of the Marathon Township Airport commission that launched YSP; was initial chair of the Mackenzie Area Radio Society that launched a new community radio station, CHMM- FM and in 2011 accepted the call to serve as Slave Lake Town Recovery Manager following the devastating wild fire that burned through the town. He was proud and humbled when the community successfully applied to present him with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award.

Strongly committed to the adage that the true test of a man is the family he leaves behind, look for the footprints. He treasured his relationship with his children, grandchildren, his own family and Cecille’s family.

His funeral will be held on Monday, December 10, at St. Edward’s Catholic Parish in Duncan, BC, at 10 am. A reception will follow at the H.W. Wallace funeral home.

The family wants to thank Drs. Lisa and Jean-Marie Wilson, Dr. Valorie Masuda, Dr. John Paul McGhie and the staffs of the Cowichan District Hospital and Cowichan Valley Hospice Society for their incredible care throughout Tom’s battle. Their attention and compassion gave us all incredible comfort and peace of mind.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Cowichan Hospice House Project in Tom’s name as they work to build a proper hospice house providing quality end of life care.