In Memorium: Bob Boggiano

Robert James Boggiano, 47, of Tucson and formerly Grand Rapids, Mich., died Saturday evening April 18 at his home.

Known as Bob to his family and friends, he moved to Tucson with his partner Andrew Sauer in 2004 and began operating Great Lakes Painting and Design, a custom interior painting company that he and Andrew formed in Michigan.

In addition to Andrew, he is survived by his sons, James Jackson Boggiano and Cory Allen Boggiano of Grand Rapids, his mother Jane Drumm of Grand Rapids, his sister Shari Lewis of Michigan, his brother, Mark Boggiano of Grand Rapids, his grandmother Gladys Herrick, who lives with his great-aunt, Doris Johns, in Grand Rapids, and Andrew’s parents, Jack and Suzanne Sauer of Tucson and Grand Rapids.

A viewing service will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday April 17 at Bring Funeral Home, 6910 E. Broadway, Tucson, with a wake to follow at his home.

He graduated from Grand Rapids’ Kelloggsville High School in 1981. He became a co-owner of the deli Bo-Jack’s in Grand Rapids and a family-style restaurant C.J.’s Kitchen in Kalamazoo, Mich., that one reviewer commented was a “really excellent truck stop”. It wasn’t a truck stop. Andrew said the description caught both by surprise, but after reflection seemed to represent the spirit of the enterprise.

To Bob’s friends, his spirit shined in the zeal for his work, his compassion for all, and for the excellence of his word. As Andrew said, “He was just a good guy.”