Jay R. Bohning

Jay R. Bohning of Camdenton, Missouri, passed away peacefully at his home with his family by his side on July 20, 2024. 

Visitation was on Friday, August 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hanover Mortuary. A graveside funeral service and burial followed at 2:30 p.m., Friday, August 23, at the Hanover Cemetery.

The pallbearers were Michelle Bohning, Gregg Bohning, Justin Bohning, Gary Bohning, Greg Pollack and Call Helm.

Jay was born June 2, 1931 in Hanover, Kansas the son of Frank and Ethel (Gundelfinger) Bohning. He was baptized at United Brethren Evangelical Church. On June 2, 1951 he married Mary Ann Loges at Zion Lutheran Church, Hanover, Kansas.  

He spent his pre-school days at home and with his Aunt Sophia in Odell, Nebraska. He then attended grade school in Hanover, Kansas. He spent time his early grade school years doing many adult type tasks for his dad and older brother. Such things as: building retaining walls on the farm with a Caterpillar, hauling railroad coal and water, operating thrashing rigs, hauling logs for the local saw mill, and rebuilding automobile engines with his dad at his shop in Hanover. He attended Hanover High School from 1945 to 1949 during which time he was a member of the school basketball team. After high school he joined the US Air Force June 19, 1950. After basic training in Texas, Jay then attended Brown Radar School at Keesler Air Force base in Biloxi, Mississippi. He was then assigned as a trainer for radar courses at Keesler Air Force Base. He then married MaryAnn in June of 1951, while teaching radar maintenance school. Jay was subsequently stationed on Ukushima Island in Korea in June of 1952 and spent one year as a radar specialist. He returned to Pope Air Force base in NC maintaining a radar for guided airplane ground control. After being discharged from Air Force in 1954, MaryAnn and Jay lived in North Carolina and South Carolina and then moved to Manhattan, Kansas where he attended Kansas State College and received a BS Degree in Electrical Engineering. Jay was President of Eta Kappa Nu, honor society. Jay graduated in the summer of 1957 with honors.

Jay then went to work for Bell Telephone Laboratories in June of 1958. He received his MS degree from New York University in 1960. His first assignments with Bell Labs were the Nike Ajax and Nike Hercules systems. He made the transition from anti-aircraft to anti-missile system Zeus in 1960. He was the sole AT&T Member of Technical Staff to design and develop the program for NIKE Zeus discrimination radar. This assignment required many trips to the Marshall Islands during the development of the radar. He was promoted to Supervisor at Bell Labs in 1963. With the continued development of the Anti Ballistic Missile system he was assigned to develop the operation system for the radar “Safeguard” system. The family then moved to Kwajalein, Marshall Islands in 1970 for a two year assignment. The family was able to tour through the Pacific Islands of: Yap, Ponape, Saipan, Palau, Guam and Truk Atoll. Upon his return from the Marshall Islands, he worked on developing the “White Pages” and also was involved in AT&Ts microprocessor chip development. Later he supervised a “modem testing” group and retired from AT&T in December of 1989. Jay and MaryAnn retired to the Lake of the Ozarks in the summer of 1994.

Survivors include his two sons, Gregg and wife Melaine of Camdenton, MO, Gary Bohning of West Palm Beach, Florida; a daughter, Sondra Pollack and husband Gregory of Camdenton, MO; three grandsons, Justin Bohning and wife Melissa of Camdenton, MO, Nathan Bohning and wife Laura Valente, St. John, US Virgin Islands, Derick Pollack and fiancé Lily Eremita, Highlands, NJ; and a granddaughter, Michelle Bohning of Orlando, FL. 

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife MaryAnn; one brother and wives, Frank (Doris & Judy) Bohning; one sister Margaret J. Bohning; two brothers-in law and wives Orville Loges (Irma) Elmer Loges (Eileen); nephews, Michael Loges and Gordon Loges; and a niece Amanda Dodd-Anderson.

He was a member of Ozark Chapel United Methodist Church in Laurie, MO and the ELKS Osage Community Lodge 2705, Laurie, MO.

A memorial fund is established and will be designated later. Contributions may be sent in care of Hanover Mortuary, Hanover.