John Howard Boysun

John Howard Boysun, 94, of Great Falls, passed away on February 17, 2018 after a brief illness. A vigil service will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. at O’Connor Funeral Home Memorial Chapel, 2425 8th Ave. N. A funeral liturgy will be held on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Ann’s Cathedral, 715 3rd Ave. N. Schnider Funeral Home is handling arrangements. John was born March 23, 1923, in a mud shack on the family homestead in Sand Creek, Montana, to Metro and Ida (Klym) Boysun. A son of immigrants, he was fiercely proud of his Ukrainian heritage. His early life was a hardscrabble existence of living off the land for sustenance during the Great Depression. As a boy, he cared for his baby brother when his mother fell ill. From her, he learned to cook borscht, pierogi, and other Ukrainian dishes. Thanks to his vivid memory, he passed this practical knowledge down to his family and it became a beautiful legacy of stories, food, and folk art. As a teenager, he worked on farms, mined coal, and milked cows. As a young adult, he worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps, clearing trail for Glacier National Park, and worked on the construction of what is now Malmstrom Air Force Base. Living through hard times instilled in him deep faith, a strong work ethic, the value of family, and enjoyment of the simplest of things. At 20, John volunteered for the draft in the U.S. Army Air Corps even though he had a farm deferment. He was deployed as a flight engineer with the 34th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force, where he flew in 30 missions over Europe during World War II including two on D-Day. For his service and bravery he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. He regaled anyone who asked with tales of the bountiful breakfast for flight crews on the days of bombing missions, and the shot of whiskey they’d enjoy upon returning to base. He still devoured a “flyer’s breakfast” at The Lodge well into his 90s. In the 34th Bomb Group, 72 planes originally went to Europe and only 38 returned safely. “I believe we had a guardian angel watching over us,” he said of his wartime experience. He and three brothers served at the same time - all returning home safely. John’s life after the war was singularly focused on family. He married the love of his life, Florence Marie Heser on June 22, 1948, in Wolf Point. Their first son, Gary, was born in 1949. In 1959, two years after the birth of their second son, Randy, he moved the family to Great Falls for a job with Farmer’s Union Oil Co., where he was eventually promoted to general manager. He worked in that position until his retirement in 1988. He worked hard all of his life to bring modest prosperity to his family. He and Flo raised their two sons to become well-mannered, hard-working, and kind men devoted to their wives and families. In their 66 years together, Flo was his abiding travel and dance partner. They traveled south to Nevada to gamble and north to Alberta to dance and listen to their favorite polka band, “The Mom & Dads.” He hunted down the backyard vermin that terrified Flo at their home on 29th Ave NE. He tended to their garden and apple tree, and harvested horseradish from the vacant former landfill just up the road. He was a master storyteller with a lucid memory. It would take just one question to get him rolling and you’d soon learn something you didn’t know about his life and family. Above all, John loved his seven grandchildren with abundance. As their biggest fans, he and Flo attended countless school and sporting activities. Sunday dinners after Mass were a way of life, where he told stories and jokes and taught the grandkids “the chicken dance.” This man with an eighth-grade education was immeasurably proud to see all seven grandkids earn college degrees. In his later years, he’d start his day with a forkful of sauerkraut, and still loved a beer or a glass of Mogen David. When he and Flo moved from their longtime home to The Lodge, his bible was never far from reach. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and former board member of Montana Federal Credit Union. John is survived by his sons, Gary (Helen) Boysun and Randy (Sue) Boysun; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Flo, his parents, and his seven siblings. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in John’s name may be made to the Great Falls Community Food Bank’s “Backpacks for Kids” program or the Great Falls Rescue Mission, 326 2nd Ave. S., Great Falls, MT, 59403. Condolences for the family may be left online at www.SchniderFuneralHome.com.