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1920 John 2014

John Claude Bockoven

December 18, 1920 — May 4, 2014

John Claude Bockoven, Jr., passed away peacefully on May 4, 2014 after a brief bout with pneumonia. He had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and had been living for several years at The Ark, an adult foster care home owned and operated by Arturo and Patricia Villagrana, who gave him wonderful care, for which his family is profoundly grateful. John was born in Frankfort, Michigan in 1920 where his father was the minister at the First Congregational Church. He came to Ft. Bliss during WW II and married Helen Katherine Hunter, an El Paso native whom he met while singing in the choir at the First Presbyterian Church. They settled in El Paso while he attended the College of Mines (now UTEP). From there, he went to SMU law school and then to work for Nationwide Insurance in Lynchburg, Virginia. There he and Helen were active in the young Westminster Presbyterian Church, he as deacon and treasurer and Helen as organist and choir director. He believed strongly in the cooperatives movement, so when the opportunity arose in 1961, he took a job with Federated Rural Electric Cooperative Insurance Company in Madison, Wisconsin, and several years later became its president. One of his great joys in life came there when he got his pilot’s license and could act as co-pilot on flights with the company plane. He helped Federated grow from insuring rural electric cooperatives in 2 states to being licensed in 23 states, and moved the home office to Overland Park, Kansas, three years before he retired in 1985. John and Helen happily retired in El Paso. They spent several summers in Frankfort, Michigan, refurbishing the beautiful old Victorian house where he was born and getting it registered as a National Historical Place, a task which kept him busy and gave him a great sense of pride. Later he volunteered for about 8 months as interim manager at the Insights Science Museum in El Paso while the Board of Directors searched for a new manager. After Helen passed away in 2004, John moved to Bellingham, Washington to live closer to his son, but stayed there only one year before returning to the sunshine in El Paso. His son John C. (Skip) Bockoven III passed away from cancer in 2006. One daughter, Katie Stern, lives in Wisconsin where she is a professor at UW Stevens Point. His other daughter, Beverly Doyle, is retired and lives in Sacramento, California. His daughter-in-law, Cindy Paffumi (Skip’s wife), is a manager of mental health services in Bellingham, Washington. John is also survived by 3 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. John’s ashes will be scattered near Helen’s in their beloved Franklin Mountains. No services are planned at this time. His family suggests that for those who wish to do so, donations be made in his name to the Alzheimer’s Association, 4687 N. Mesa, El Paso, TX 79912, or to the new Insights Science Center, P.O. Box 9248, El Paso, TX 79995. Services entrusted to Sunset Funeral Home Northeast. Please visit our on-line register book at www.sunsetfuneralhomes.net.
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