Memorial Services for Bernhard "Ben" Boehr, Jr., 88, will be 2:00 p.m., Saturday, December 12, 2009 at the Fairview Mennonite Brethren Church. The Reverend Byron Neufeld will officiate. Burial will follow at the South Mennonite Brethren Cemetery. Arrangements are by the Fairview Funeral Home, Inc.

Viewing will be from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Thursday and from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm Friday at the Fairview Funeral Home Inc.

Bernhard Boehr, Jr., 88, of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, formerly of Fairview, OK, passed away peacefully to be with his Lord and Savior on Friday, December 4,2009 in Providence Care Center after years of struggling with Alzheimer's.

Ben was born on July 21, 1921 to Bernhard and Sarah (Mierau) Boehr on a farm in Henderson, Nebraska. Both parents were devout Christians who influenced him to accept Jesus Christ at seven years old in 1929. Reverend A.W. Friesen from Bethesda Church in Henderson, Nebraska was his preacher then.

Dr. Boehr attended York College, Bethel College, a Master's Degree in Education at Wichita University, and a Doctor's Degree at Nebraska University in School Administration. Prior to finishing his education, he served in the United States Army during World War II from 1943 - 1945. His rank was Technician Fourth Grade and his duties were driving a tank, being a German Interpreter and interrogator overseas. Ben landed on Omaha Beach in France. He was also stationed in Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe. The WWII medal. Purple Heart, Good Conduct Ribbon, and the Theater Ribbon with five Bronze Stars were the honors/medals he received while in the military.

On August 13, 1950, he married Norma Jean Neufeld from Fairview, Oklahoma. God blessed him with two children: Douglas Lynn and Deborah Jean. They lived in Kansas from 1950 to 1964 where he was a good 6th grade teacher and school administrator. In 1964, they moved to New Jersey where he served as an Elementary School Principal (his teachers and students loved him) until 1984 and then retired. While in New Jersey, he joined the Millington Baptist Church where he enjoyed Christian Fellowship and taught Sunday School.

After he retired, Jean and him lived in a motor home for a year and visited all the United States and Canada, and toured 11 countries in Europe, Egypt, Israel, and Hawaii. He then settled down in Fairview, Oklahoma and joined the Mennonite Brethren Church where he taught adult Sunday School.

Ben loved to whistle, watch sports, travel, play golf, bowl, throw horseshoes, and play chess and cards (especially Rook and Hearts). He was an active member of the Gideons International organization where he placed Bibles in hotels and prisons and occasionally preached. Ben, a devoted and dedicated husband and father, truly enjoyed people and had beautiful blue eyes and a smile that was a gift to all, even in his last days. His strong faith, daily Bible reading and prayer, and moral lifestyle were a testimony to others of how much he loved the Lord. Ben will be missed by all. His daughter, Debbie, would like to thank all of the staff at the Fairview Fellowship Home, friends and family members who unselfishly gave their love, prayers, letters, e-mails, phone calls, and time to take care of her parents and help her cope during this difficult journey. The Family has been deeply touched and blessed by everyone's thoughtfulness and love. God truly does provide in time of need!

Surviving Ben are his beloved wife of 59 years, Norma Jean (Neufeld) Boehr; one son, Dr. Douglas Boehr and his wife, Karen, of Topeka, Kansas; a loving daughter, Deborah Jean Kozlina and her husband, Wasso III, of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania; six loving grandchildren. Crystal Jean (Boehr) Broxterman and her husband, David, of Sevierville, TN; Michelle Lea Boehr of Topeka, KS; Samuel Douglas Boehr of Boulder, CO; Nathan Lynn Boehr of Topeka, KS; Sabra Jean and Wasso Kozlina IV of Aliquippa, PA; five great grandchildren, Nathanael Boehr, Jesse and Adriana Bose, Jonathan, and Ethan Broxterman; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

In addition to his parents, his two brothers, Elmer and Melvin Boehr, preceded him in death.

Memorials may be made to Gideons International with Fairview Funeral Home, Inc acting as custodians of the fund. They can be mailed to Fairview Funeral Home, Inc 221 North Main, Fairview, Oklahoma 73737.

Condolences may be made online at www.fairviewfuneralhomeinc.com.