My dearest Daddy passed away Saturday November 6th, 2021. I am devastated.
Dad gave me a wonderful, loving, and safe childhood. Only now as an adult do I realize how lucky I was.
I have so much to be grateful for. Dad taught me about family, the importance of working hard, of always doing one’s best, and of always trying. He taught me about respect. Not just respecting parents, and those in authority. But respecting people from all works of life regardless of who they are or what they can do for you. He taught me about honesty and decency.
I love you, and will miss you forever.
Below is his obituary...
Peter Barry Bosman, 85, of Fort Collins, Colorado passed away Saturday November 6th, 2021, under the care of Hospice, McKee Medical Center, Loveland surrounded by his wife and family after a courageous battle with prostate cancer.
Peter was born November 15, 1935, in Kimberley, South Africa, the only son of Lilian Agnes (Hamilton Hoskins) Bosman and Abraham Johannes Bosman. He was an only child. He lived with his Grandmother Judith while his parents served in World War 2.
He spent his childhood years in Kimberley, South Africa where he attended Kimberley Boys High School.
It is with grateful thanks to his stepfather, Carl Allekotte that Peter was able to attend St. Andrews High School and was able to go on to college. He attended the University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa where he graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Sciences – Civil Engineering. Whilst at University he met the love of his life and mother of his three children, June Elizabeth McIntosh.
They met at a dance. Legend has it Peter asked June, “Where are you from?” And then June replied, “I am sorry, but we don’t farm.” The rest, as they say, is history. They were married in Johannesburg, South Africa on December 14th, 1960. Peter was a keen photographer. June’s father, Brian was delighted that his daughter was marrying such a wonderful man. Of course, Brian was a keen photographer too. Peter was welcomed and loved as a son by June’s parents, Joyce, and Brian. Peter and June were looking forward to celebrating their wedding anniversary of 61 years this December 2021.
After graduating College and marrying, Peter worked for Robert Leslie, Consulting Engineers in Cape Town, and then for South African Railways, during the design and construction of Johannesburg Station.
Peter was awarded the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) Scholarship, and he and June spent approximately 2 years living and working in England. Their eldest son, Mark was born whilst they were in England.
On their return to South Africa, Peter started work at Gerald Stoch who designed filling stations before Peter joined WLPU (Watermeyer, Legge, Piesold & Uhlmann) in 1964.
In 1964 Peter bought half an acre plot of dirt and sand in Parkmore, Sandton, South Africa. They built a single-story modest home in a largely underdeveloped neighborhood. Soon after Andrew was born, the young family moved into their newly constructed home. Peter and June turned this house into a home – a home where they gave their children a warm and loving childhood. They transformed the dirt and sand into a thriving, verdant garden. Over the years the children brought in various pets – birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, cats, dogs, and ducks. They even had a chicken called Henny Penny who was a fixture at evening dinners. She loved to perch on the shelves in the dining room to keep an eye on the guests.
The house would be the family home for nearly 40 years and where Peter and June raised their three children – Mark, Andrew, and then later their daughter Sally.
Over the years, Peter used his engineering skills and the skills taught by his step-grandfather Orson (his beloved Grandmother Judith’s second husband) to add to the house – a garage, a playroom, a master bedroom, and an outdoor patio. The outdoor patio was built to host Joyce’s 60th surprise birthday party.
He taught Lazarus Kgali, who was employed initially as a gardener, how to build. Together they expanded the home. He also mentored Lazarus and helped him with his own home.
Peter loved family. He loved to take his family on vacations – safari self-drives to Kruger National Park, where all the children learned to drive, and the wildlife were scared away by “big Bertha” a big lens that Peter “engineered” using PVC pipes and a bellows focusing mechanism. The lens came off an old aerial survey camera. He loved the Drakensberg Mountains. He would go on hikes with his camera and photograph the scenery, the flowers, and the people he loved.
He loved to travel. He and June toured some exciting locales – Thailand, Japan, China, and Russia with their friends. He loved to photograph and videotape his travels. More often than not Peter was to be found behind a camera and not in front of it.
Peter built up his career and reputation and became a world-renowned expert in natural draft cooling towers. He would often delight his children and amuse his neighbors by building cooling tower experiments in the back garden. He filed several patents over the years. He worked on numerous projects whilst working for WLPU. His first project was determining the best route for the pipeline to supply the town of Phalaborwa including the mine with water. His first power station was Hendrina, located on the Highveld in South Africa. He worked on projects in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Turkey, Australia, and India.
Peter rose through the ranks of WLPU (later known as Knight Piesold) and became partner of WLPU in 1976, and director of Knight Piesold in 1996. (In 1995 WLPU become Knight Piesold.)
In 2000 he transitioned out of his leadership role. He and June moved to Denver, Colorado with the goal of pursuing cooling tower projects in the USA and India. Eventually he set up his own company, KP Energy LLC to continue his consulting work, but still retained close ties to his old company and colleagues. During this time, he formed a close relationship with Paharpur Construction Company in Kolkata, India. Over the years Peter worked on numerous projects in India with Paharpur.
Peter would always joke that “Engineers never retire.” This is accurate because Peter only started to wind down his business activities when he was well into his 80’s, when he needed to devote his energies to his family and to fighting his illness.
Peter was a kind, generous and loving husband, father, and grandfather. Peter was deeply loved and will be missed forever. He will always be remembered for his sense of fun, his humor, his smile and his infectious laugh.
Peter is survived by his wife, June, and his two children, Mark and his wife Cheryl of Green Point, NSW Australia; Sally and her husband, Kevin of Fort Collins, Colorado; his granddaughter, Natasha of Coogee, NSW, Australia; his step-grandson, Billy of Birmingham, England and step-granddaughter, Chantelle of Hilton, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa; as well as many devoted friends and family members.
He was predeceased by his son, Andrew of Denver, Colorado.
Due to COVID we held a virtual celebration of life and Zoom reception. We set up a Tribute Wall