Obituary of Arnold Joseph Boehmer

Born to Arnold R. and Lorene Boehmer, on August 24th 1956 in Tacoma WA, Arnold is survived by his three children Arnold J. Boehmer Jr. (A.J.), Amy Wolfe and son in law Robert Wolfe, Chrystol Bollweg (Gert) and son in law Shaun Bollweg, Grandchildren Damian Bollweg (Bubba) and Malekai (Herby), Joanna (Nanner bug) and Geneva Wolfe (Dovey). His sisters Dolores and Diane and his nieces and nephews Christina, John, Lena, Jeremy, Billy Guy and Kelly. Proceeded in Death by his Mother and Father Arnold and Lorene Boehmer and his sister Darlene. Arnold, affectionately known to his Grandchildren as Grumpy, would put his own twist on everything and it always made everything special, like the little nick names he gave us kids and grandkids. Arnold was a loving Father and Grandfather who would do anything for his kids. Regardless of how busy he was or how far away he was he always had time for his kids and did everything possible to be there for them and support them in any way he could. If you offered to pay him back for anything he would usually reply with, “Your smile is payment enough!!” And then he would add “just remember you’ll have to pay it forward to your kids” He taught by example through his actions and morals. He taught us that you can’t buy happiness, to always do the right thing, and never let anyone compromise your integrity. Happiness is what you find in the people you love by spending time with them and never taking them for granted. When we were young he taught us the joy of the outdoors and a summer never passed without a trip to the river, lake or a camp out at Clearwood or Mt. Rainer and a winter never went by without sledding and playing in the snow up at Mt Rainer. We were always doing something. He loved teaching us things that we would need to know later in life. He taught A.J. how to wrench on cars. I don’t know if it was so much the wrenching or the time he spent with A.J that he enjoyed more. He taught Amy how to ride horses and bikes and he taught Chrystol how to drive. (Of course he had to trick her into getting on the freeway, she wasn’t too happy about that and she had to know how to change a flat tire before she could get her license). He taught all of us to play pool but not until our belly buttons reached the top of the table. Most of all he taught us that family is everything. He loved watching us start our lives and watching our families grow. He was proud of all his kids and son in laws. He always said that he couldn’t have handpicked better men for his girls. He was a high steel painter by trade. He took a lot of pride in his work like his father before him and now his son. He would tell us of all the places around the state and abroad that he worked on and it’s a pretty impressive list. He loved the thrill of the heights and knew how to do it right and wouldn’t accept anything less. One of his father’s dream was to sail. Arnold carried out his father’s dream which then became his dream by buying a sail boat and starting the adventure. He learned everything and anything about that boat and put it in the Puget Sound. He sailed it for several years. We all enjoyed going out and seeing the joy it gave him to have been able to accomplish his dream. This world has lost an exceptional man with a heart of gold but his legacy will live on through the love that he taught us to have for others and continues as we show how to share the same love he taught us. You will never be forgotten Dad, we will celebrate your life every day and look back on our memories with smiles and love in our hearts. We’ve been blessed to have had the privilege of being your family. In closing I would like to share with you a poem that was special to our Dad. FOOTPRINTS – One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. “Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints, I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.” The Lord replied “My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trials and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.” We will be holding a Celebration of his life on Saturday April 4th starting at 2pm at his Yelm property. If you are not aware of the location please e-mail ajm2779@gmail prior to Friday evening for the address.