Bill Boam

William David Boam died August 15, 2024, age 89, in Draper, Utah. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, July 29, 1935, to Bessie Lee and David Emerson Boam. 

Bill graduated from South High School and attended Gonzaga University for one year before serving in the Korean War and then finishing his B.A. in Physics at the University of Utah. He completed an M.S. in Computer Science/Biophysics in 1969. He was a member of Sigma Pi Sigma. 

Always hard working, Bill started his career at Sperry Corporation. He began his biomedical career by writing a Fortran compiler, drivers and loader for medical applications. He subsequently worked for Control Data in Palo Alto, Automated Medical Systems in Minneapolis, then Control Data/Medlab, Control Data/Healthcare Services and finally 3M Health Information Systems in Salt Lake City. He also held positions as a research instructor/systems analyst and special staff specialist at the University of Utah Computer Center. 

Bill married Marita Nevada Owen, and they had three children: Derek, Dana and Carrie. They later divorced. He married Donna Rae Gordon, founder of Bel Viso skin care. She preceded him in death after a long struggle with rheumatoid arthritis, during which he was her sole caregiver.

An avid athlete, he played basketball, track and field (medaled in high jump), fast pitch softball and golf. His favorite was tennis which he played throughout his life and daily during his retirement until his mid-80s. His St. George tennis group was significant to him. He also maintained longstanding friendships with his high school championship basketball team.

After he retired, he moved to Kayenta, St. George, where he designed and built the two houses in which he and Donna lived. He was also active on the Kayenta ACC and neighborhood. Never one to be idle, he volunteered with the Ivins Fire Department until he was nearly 80. He always had bountiful gardens and maintained a beautiful, living atrium in his house. He was a lifelong coin collector acquiring a diverse assortment over his life. Multiple dogs provided companionship, including Squire, Nicky, Rascal and Jesse. 

Children and grandchildren often visited his Kayenta oasis, eating pancakes for breakfast, walking to the elephant rocks, riding in the back of his truck to go swimming in the Kayenta pool, playing cards, enjoying homemade spaghetti sauce, raspberry jam and ice cream. All the grandchildren learned to drive stick at his hand in Kayenta at a young age.

Survived by Marsha Wold (sister), his children, Willam Derek Boam (Carolee), Dana Boam, Carrie Boam Miller, 8 grandchildren, 3 great grandchildren and Jesse (now 107 in dog years).

Respecting his wishes, a private memorial gathering will be held.