LCDR Marvin Eugene Boomgaarden, USN (Ret)

LCDR Marvin Eugene Boomgaarden, USN (Ret), died peacefully at home in Tyler, Texas on August 2, 2019. He was 97. A Rosary will take place at 10:00 a.m. Friday, August 9, 2019 and a funeral service will follow at 10:30 a.m. in the Stewart Family Funeral Home Chapel with the Very Rev. Gary Janak officiating. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow at Cathedral in the Pines Cemetery. Funeral arrangements will be handled by Stewart Family Funeral Home. LCDR Boomgaarden will be lovingly remembered by his family and friends for his energy, determination, love of history and music; as well as for his gift of storytelling. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather and greatly enjoyed being surrounded by his family. He was devoted to his Naval Career and bravely served his country in three wars: WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He retired after 30 years of service. LCDR Boomgaarden was born June 28, 1922 in Pipestone County Minnesota, the son of Albert and Ella (Blum) Boomgaarden. He grew up on a farm near Pitt, Minnesota with six brothers and one sister. In July 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and attended Navy Electronics School and then joined the newly formed secret Radar school at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. After graduation he continued training in Corpus Christi, Texas and was assigned to the Fleet Aviation Service Squadron in the Panama Canal Zone. He spent most of WWII in Panama, Galapagos, and Ecuador. He returned to Corpus Christi and married his sweetheart, Lorine Marie Krejci on July 14, 1944. She would stay by his side for 62 years until her death in 2007. After WWII, LCDR Boomgaarden was transferred to Norfolk, VA where he was involved in the repair of aviation equipment and test flights. He subsequently returned to Corpus Christi as an instructor in aviation electronics. There he wrote a training manual, The Third Class Aviation Electronics Petty Officer’s Handbook. His next assignment was San Diego, California in 1948 where he was assigned to an experimental anti-submarine squadron. During the Korean War, LCDR Boomgaarden served on the USS Bataan which operated off the coast of Korea. In 1957 he moved his family (which now included three children: Darrell, Marilyn and Donald) to Memphis, Tennessee to attend an advanced electronics school. He graduated with honors and was transferred to the Naval Station in Monterey, California where he was the leading chief and taught electronics. From Monterey he was transferred back to San Diego where, in addition to his position with the Navy, he taught a college level course on electronics. In 1962 Marvin was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He was transferred to Kodiak, Alaska where he supervised the Ground Control Approach capability of aircraft. The Boomgaarden family experienced the Good Friday Earthquake on March 27, 1964. The earthquake registered 9.2 on the Richter scale and was, at the time, the 2nd strongest recorded earthquake in the world. After the quake, LCDR Boomgaarden was instrumental in saving a commercial airline flight with 140 passengers that needed to land on Kodiak’s debris strewn runway. Following a three-year stay on Kodiak Island, LCDR Boomgaarden was assigned as the Ground Electronics Officer at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station. In 1969 LCDR Boomgaarden was assigned to the Navy’s helicopter gunship unit in Vietnam, the Seawolves, as the officer in charge of helicopter maintenance. It was during this time that he was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor. Upon his return from Vietnam, he served the remainder of his 30-year career in Beeville and Corpus Christi and retired from the Navy in 1973. After retirement, Marvin went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He was then employed as Director of Facilities for Corpus Christi State University and worked there for 15 years. On September 24, 2007 Marvin married Helen Wright. They lived in Corpus Christi until 2016 when they moved to Tyler, Texas. They had many good years together until Helen passed away in May 2017. Marvin is preceded in death by his wives, Lorine Krejci Boomgaarden and Helen Wright Boomgaarden; his parents, Albert and Ella Boomgaarden; brothers, Albert Jr., Dwayne, Eldon, and Leon Boomgaarden; and sister, Vera Boomgaarden Cole. Marvin leaves many treasured and happy memories with his son, Darrell Boomgaarden and wife Mary; son, Dr. Donald Boomgaarden and wife Paula; daughter, Marilyn Boomgaarden Adcock and husband Walter. Grandchildren include, Mark Boomgaarden and wife Samantha, Brooke Boomgaarden Meris and husband Lyndon; Gregory Adcock and wife Megan; and Russell Adcock and wife Jenny. Step-grandchildren include, Cori Brodsky and husband Josh, Mackenzie Powell and husband Andrew, and Andrea Fuqua. Great-grandchildren include, Abby and Paige Boomgaarden, Mason, Owen, and Thomas Adcock, Sloan Meris and baby Adcock. LCDR Boomgaarden is also survived by two brothers, Steven Boomgaarden of Rosemount, MN and Jake Boomgaarden of Clearbrook, MN. Pallbearers will be Greg Adcock, Russell Adcock, Mark Boomgaarden, Lyndon Meris, Walter Adcock and Donald Boomgaarden.

LCDR Marvin Eugene Boomgaarden, USN (Ret)

June 28, 1922 - August 2, 2019