Even in recent years, as his body forged on past its eighth decade, John Boesch could still be seen gearing up for another run with the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department’s Company 4 in Great Neck.
The alarm would ring out across Northern Boulevard and there was the 52-year member, a former captain and company president, racing men less than half his age to be the first one onboard the first truck to respond.
When he and his wife Susie moved away a few years ago, Boesch hung up his helmet for good, and on Jan. 10, the Korean War-era veteran died of complications due to pancreatic cancer. He was 86.
“He loved this place. It’s what he woke up for,” said Kirk T. Candan, the department’s 3rd deputy chief, who served Manhasset-Lakeville alongside Boesch with Company 4. “I’ll always remember seeing him running down the block toward the firehouse, trying to get on the first truck.”
Boesch and Susie raised three children out of their Westminster Road home in Great Neck, where they lived for more than 50 years, during which time the family became staples of firefighting in the community.
Boesch’s two sons, John Jr. and Alfred, went on to join their father in the fire department. Members of Susie’s family were also volunteer firefighters.
Last Tuesday, a memorial was held for Boesch at Saint Anastasia Church in Little Neck – where he grew up in the 1940s – where his peers in the department gathered to say their goodbyes. He was buried at Mount St. Mary Cemetery in Flushing.
“He was a dedicated fireman, a dedicated father and a dedicated husband,” Susie said. “He had a fabulous turnout at his funeral, lots of fire trucks, lots of lights blinking. He had many firemen there and many friends from over the years. He was a well-respected man and a well-liked man, and I was very proud to be his wife all those years.”
Boesch and Susie were married for 58 years, introduced by mutual friends on a blind date. The couple remained friends and casually dated for a few years before tying the knot and embarking on a life together.
“He decided that he wanted to marry me and I decided I wanted to marry him and the die was cast,” Susie said. “So we did.”
Boesch attended P.S. 94 in Little Neck and graduated from Bayside High School in the late 1940s.
He began taking classes at Pace University but was drafted into the Army in the early 1950s and was stationed stateside during the Korean War. He later graduated in 1955.
Professionally, Boesch worked his way into an ownership position at the Syosset Bakery before selling the company. He then worked as a salesman for the needlework manufacturer C.J. Bates and Sons and finally as a commissioner for the Belgrave Sewer District in Great Neck.
He and Susie moved to 257th Street in Great Neck in 1961, which was later renamed Westminster Road.
There, they raised John Jr., Alfred and daughter Jeanne Marie, who went on to have a combined nine grandchildren.
Alfred, who later joined the New York City Police Department, died in the line of duty in 1995.
“It was a good neighborhood,” Susie said. “All the children in the neighborhood were about the same age, they hung out together and played sports together. When our boys got old enough, they joined the fire department, too.”
In his later years, Boesch was passionate about an antique Manhasset-Lakeville fire truck that was purchased in Upstate New York and restored by Company 4 members, his wife said.
Boesch was among the firefighters who would enter the truck into competitions throughout the northeast, bringing home blue ribbon after blue ribbon.
“He was very proud of that,” Candan said. “He traveled all over the place with it.”
Susie said she remembered one instance in which they were driving home from a competition and noticed a boy gleefully eyeing the truck from his seat in the next lane and telling his father to slow down so he could look at the vehicle a moment or two longer.
“Seeing the joy on this kid’s face was wholly worthwhile. He was so excited and that’s how we all felt about it because when it came down the road, it was beautiful. It certainly was,” she said.
“Seeing my husband and sons getting involved in the fire department was very good karma for me. I was very happy they did that,” Susie added. “I am very proud of them. I still am.”
