SEELEY LAKE - Ronald James Bohlman, 77, of Seeley Lake, passed away on Friday, Dec. 19 at St. Patrick Hospital of cancer.
He was born on Nov. 3, 1942, in Portland, Ore. to Chet and Marge Bohlman. As a young boy he lived with his family in Portland, big brother to Barbara and Betty, spending many years swimming and canoeing in Lake Oswego and was educated in the Lake Oswego schools. While in high school he was a member of the boys’ swim team (captain his senior year) who were state champions.
He graduated from Lake Oswego High School in 1960. He then went on to graduate from the University of Washington with a degree in math in 1964 and was on scholarship with the men’s swim team. He then received his post graduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Oregon.
He met his wife Sandy Heaston when he began working for the Sandia Corporation in New Mexico. On Aug. 23, 1967, he married Sandy in Portland, Ore. The couple lived in New Mexico where they had their first son Clay on Oct. 16, 1968.
They moved to Salt Lake City in 1969, where he worked for a large computer company. In 1970, his company moved his family to California to continue with his work. On Jan. 9, 1971, the couple had their twin boys Tom and Lance. Later that year his family moved to Portland where he worked for another large computer company and then working with his dad and youngest sister Betty in the family food brokerage business. In 1998, he and his wife moved to Seeley Lake where he pursued a part-time teaching career before retiring.
A loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, he enjoyed rafting with his family, fishing with his granddaughters, caring for his son’s horses, caring for his dogs, vacationing at his brother and sister-in-law’s cabin along the Madison, watching his granddaughter’s sporting events, Sunday dinners with his granddaughters, watching Oregon football games with his family and spending time with his great grandson.
Survivors include his wife Sandy, Seeley Lake; three sons and their families Clay, Williston, N.D., Tom, Portland and Lance, Seeley Lake; one sister Barbara and her family, Portland; three nieces Lindsay, Portland, Whitney, Portland, and Krissy, Klamath Falls, Ore.; one sister-in-law Pattie, Fountain Hills, Ariz.; three granddaughters and their families, Alex, Reno, Nev., Lulu, Seeley Lake and Andi, Flagstaff, Ariz. and one great grandson Kade, Seeley Lake