Life story

" Robert Daniel Boschoff (better known as Bob to family and Butchie to parents and grandparents) was born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern CA by his parents, Cleo and Boris along with his younger brother, Tommy and little sister, Gail. He graduated from West Covina High School in 1959. He enjoyed all things mechanical and electronic as a kid and taught himself how to fix just about anything.

He met his future wife Anita while working as an electronic technician at General Dynamics, Pomona CA. They were married in spring of 1961 and bought their first home in Upland CA in 1962. They welcomed two daughters, Jeanne Marie and Lori Denise.

In 1964, he opened a TV repair shop "Upland Electronics" in Ontario, CA. He closed the shop as TVs became more complicated and moved into auto mechanics. He opened his own repair shop "Automotive Enterprises" in the early 70s and specialized in Volkswagen repairs and motor head resurfacing. He had a passion for VW Beetles and drove them for years!

He married into the Gabor family and gained 5 sisters + 6 brothers in-law and lots of nieces and nephews. He also had 6 nephews from his side of the family. He enjoyed family gatherings although he was known for finding a place to nap. He enjoyed camping, trips to the mountains and dune buggy adventures with friends and family while living in Southern California.

Later in life, he moved to Northern California to be near his mom and stayed in Linden, CA about 20 years. After years of working in the auto industry, he changed careers again and became a Brand Advocate for Sears and Microsoft. He also taught mechanics in the California prison system and at community colleges for a while. He was tech savvy and always had the latest electronic gadgets (and figured out how to repair them).

He wanted to experience life in another state and selected Maryville, TN to retire. He found his dream home on the outskirts of town with a 3 car garage, a workshop and lots of land to tinker with cars, appliances and computers. He also enjoyed cooking and experimenting with kitchen gadgets.

Bob had five grandchildren + five great grandchildren and could never believe how old they were in our phone conversations. We finally convinced him to get a Facebook profile so he could see pics of his grandkids growing up, but he wasn't much of a social app user.

He died of natural causes at his home at the age of 84.

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