Ray Boswell

Ray Edward Boswell, 93, passed away on 8 April. He was a Marine and a survivor of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Ed was a child of the Great Depression, having been born in January 1927 in Nowata, Okla., to Guy and Clella Boswell. In the early 1940s Ed moved with his family to Lawrence, Kan., where he attended Lawrence High School.

In 1944 Ed enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Pacific theatre as a PFC and corporal. He was the only member of his 30-man platoon who walked off the battlefield in the horrific battle of Iwo Jima.

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After the war he attended the University of Kansas before joining the the Douglas County, Kan., Sheriff’s Dept. as a deputy. But he spent most of his working life at the Union Pacific Railroad as a special agent and traffic safety specialist. He is also a past president of the Kansas Peace Officers Association.

He lived most of his life in Prairie Village, Kan., but also called Topeka, Kan., Spokane, Wash., and Portland, Ore., home during his time with the UP.

Ed was an avid golfer, voracious reader, gardener, pet lover and a lifelong Democrat.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Meveline Jordan Boswell, brother William Boswell of Lawrence, Kan., sisters Mary Roseanna Sanders of Mission, Kan., and Edith Klopfenstein of Moore, Okla. He is survived by sons Jeffrey Boswell (and spouse Wade Harold) of Beaverton, Ore., and Bradley Boswell; grandsons Marshall Boswell and Benjamin Boswell; and two great-grandchildren.

Due to the health crisis no funeral is being scheduled but a celebration of life will be held on a future date to be announced. In lieu of flowers or cards the family asks mourners to make a donation to the American Cancer Society.