Obituary: John J. Bohan Jr.

John J. Bohan Jr., at 94

John “Jack” J. Bohan Jr. of Weymouth died peacefully at home on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023 at age 94.

Mr. Bohan was born on July 22, 1929 in Boston and grew up in Roslindale. He was the son of the late John J. and Grace (Hennessy) Bohan. He was a graduate of English High School in Boston and a 1951 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Mr. Bohan earned a B.S. in engineering from West Point, and after his service with the Army was complete, he returned to Massachusetts and earned an M.S. in engineering from MIT. He was a longtime resident of West Roxbury, where he was a devoted caretaker of his mother, Grace. He also lived in Hull for many years, enjoying spending his time on the water.

Mr. Bohan received a recreational pilot’s license and thoroughly enjoyed flying single-engine planes around the northeastern United States. He was always reading and was knowledgeable on a multitude of subjects, including engineering, building, and history. Mr. Bohan had many interesting experiences in his life and loved reminiscing about them. Two of the most remarkable were how, in 1937, his class was let out of its elementary school to watch the Hindenburg fly overhead just hours before it exploded in New Jersey, and in 1942, at the age of 13, he and his father went to the site of the Cocoanut Grove nightclub the day after the tragic fire that killed 492 patrons.

Mr. Bohan is survived by dear friends that became family, Ellen Dawson and Anne Dawson; his sister-in-law, Joyce Bohan of Annapolis, MD; his brother-in-law, Frank Weeks of Sunapee, N.H.; and many nieces, nephews and friends. He was preceded in death by his siblings, Dr. Patricia Weeks, Janice Dawley, Dr. Lawrence Bohan, and Eugene Bohan, and close friend Paul Dawson.

Interment at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne will be at a later date.