Willi Bohmke, a longtime East Shore resident whose early life included adventure at sea, has died at 96.
Born in 1914 and raised in the aftermath of World War I, Bohmke had a farm upbringing, with rabbit hunting rights on neighbouring farms using ferrets and nets.
At 13, he was apprenticed to an uncle who was captain of a sailing schooner, to sail before the mast. It was during the days when sail-propelled ships could transport cargos to compete with steam powered vessels.
He landed in New York in 1929 and spent several years at sea, even going around Cape Horn. (Even with the extra weeks needed, this was more economical than the expense of the Panama Canal.)
The ship was wrecked in the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Spain in 1932, but all aboard were saved because the cargo was cork — that super flotation which kept them all afloat.
On his return to Germany, Bohmke was re-apprenticed as a carpenter, specializing in timber framing and stair construction. (Thus he was able to advise and help Gerry Abele when Abele undertook the design and fabrication of the timber frame Gray Creek store in 1978.)
In World War II, Bohmke became a paratrooper, serving mostly on the Russian front. When he was captured by U.S. troops, the tattoos he had from the time he was a 15-year-old sailor helped to save him, as they included a U.S. flag.
After the war Bohmke wanted to get his family to a place of no war. He was accepted in Australia, but the papers were lost. However, the papers for Canada were valid, so the Bohmke family arrived in 1954.
After five years in the Greater Vancouver area, he brought the family to Boswell, where they stayed first on the lower floor of the Welcome Inn. This motel was a reconstruction of the Boswell Farmers’ Institute fruit-packing building, where the boat ramp is today. He worked for some time for the Department of Highways on local road maintenance.
After working on construction projects such as the Skookumchuck pulp mill, he built the Heidelberg Inn restaurant and motel at Boswell in 1965. It burned down in 2008.
He also purchased District Lot 890 from Alex Mackie, who bought this as part of the Earl Grey estate. The 890 was one of the earlier district lots on the lake and includes Banana Bay, a landlocked pond that has been used for swimming and skating.
Along with Dr. Marcus Bach, Bohmke was very concerned when Boswell planned to tear down the log Memorial Hall built to commemorate those who served their country in World War I.
Bohmke offered to donate land with a level parking lot and timber to build a new hall, but his offer was not accepted, so he chose not to attend what he called “the Culvert” — a large Quonset-type metal building.
Bohmke, who died April 4, is survived by Adele, his wife of 70 years, sister Helga, daughters Heide Simpson (Mark), Sonya Leishman (Bob), and son Ernie (Kerry).