BOGUCKI, VINCENT A., CAPT. USCG RET.

Vincent A. Bogucki (Bo) crossed the bar on March 12, 2021 at age 97 in his home in Branford, CT surrounded by his family. Per the request he first made over 50 years ago, he died listening to a recording of Louis Armstrong singing ‘Just a Closer Walk with Thee’. Vincent was the oldest of 6 children born in Meriden, CT to the late Anna (Awdziewicz) and Vincent Bogucki. After learning in Polish and English at St. Stanislaus parochial school, he graduated from Meriden High School. He started college at the University of Connecticut, where he was a Kappa Sigma fraternity initiate. His career in the U.S. Coast Guard began at the Academy in New London, where he became known as ‘Bo’. His class of 1947 graduated in 1946, the last of the wartime classes to finish in 3 years. Later in his career, he also earned a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University. During his Coast Guard career, he was stationed in Astoria, OR, Port Angeles, WA, Juneau, AK, Duluth, MN, Washington, DC, Boston, MA, New Orleans, LA, San Juan, PR, and New York, NY. He commanded the cutter Woodrush on Lake Superior, the cutter Humboldt in the North Atlantic, the Coast Guard Greater Antilles Sector headquartered in San Juan, and the Coast Guard Training Center on Governor’s Island, New York. Some of his most memorable incidents were surviving a helicopter crash into the Arctic Ocean during a charting mission and serving as on-site commander of clean-up operations after the biggest oil spill in the Caribbean to date, and the search for the plane carrying Roberto Clemente that went down with its flight crew while heading for Managua, Nicaragua with earthquake relief supplies. Following retirement from the Coast Guard, he worked for several years at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources as the Chief of Dredging Operations. Upon retiring again, he proudly claimed the title of ‘respirateur’, earning his monthly checks by simply continuing to breathe. Bo was married to the love of his life, Mary Sue, for 59 years before she died in 2009. Long- time residents of Annapolis, MD, they reveled in good times with family and many close friends. They were active in the USCGA Alumni Association and enjoyed many trips and reunions with members of the Class of ‘47. They were a formidable bridge team and spent countless happy days sailing and gunkholing around the Chesapeake in their sailboat, Y Tiempo. Bo and Sue also enjoyed international travel as well as frequent car trips to all parts of the continental U.S. They both loved music and enjoyed singing – Bo with great enthusiasm in church, and bursting into song whenever he could incorporate a bad pun into a line from popular or opera lyrics to fit the moment. His neighbors always chuckled that he even sang to his little dog as they walked on their morning and evening rounds. Some of his other favorite activities included tennis, bowling, plate block collecting, and ‘betting a nickel’ with his son when the Washington football team played the Giants. Bo and Sue’s seven children cherishing all the family memories are: Sandy Bogucki of Branford, CT, Vincent (Trish) Bogucki of Mahwah, NJ, Candy (Gary) Ridgway of Davidsonville, MD, Randy (Peter) Stetson of Victoria, BC, Nancy Duncan of Mishawaka, IN, Janice Bogucki of Virginia Beach, VA, and Melanie (Hank) Zajic of Springfield, VA. Bo is also ‘Grandpa’ to Whitney, Brailey, Garrett, and Leete Stetson, Mary Grace Duncan, Laurie (Henry) Mason, and Sara, Kate, and Greg Zajic. Grace and Georgia Mason are his two great-granddaughters. Bo is also survived by his brothers Raymond (Genevieve), John Phillip, and Justin (Gail) Bogucki, his sister Marguerite Bogucki, his sister-in-law Beth (Joe) Blay, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by his sister Elizabeth Rayball and sister-in-law, Jacquelynne Bogucki. His family wishes to thank Ms. Barbara Harrison for her devoted assistance, and Connecticut Hospice for their help with home care. Visiting hours at WS Clancy Memorial Funeral Home, 244 North Main Street, Branford from 4-7 PM Monday, March 15. Funeral and interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery, where Bo will be reunited with ‘the Lovely Sue’. For directions and online memorial see www.wsclancy.com.