Jim Bogner dies

UPDATE James Michael (Jim) Bogner (64) of Indianapolis, Indiana passed away on January 18th, 2009 in Stuart, FL after a long battle with cancer. James was born on October 25, 1944 in Washington, D.C. to Mr. and Mrs. Norbert Bogner. He attended Crofton H.S in Crofton, NE. He proudly served in the Army Radio Tele-type division in Vietnam. He was a graduate of UC Berkley. He worked 20 years for Delphi in Kokomo, IN and Santa Barbara, CA where he retired in 2001. Jim is survived by his loving wife Mary Lou (Beaudry) Bogner; children Robert (Allison) Beaudry, Thomas (Kelly) Beaudry; brother Richard (Valerie) Bogner; sisters Jeanne (Leroy) Dillon, Mary Kay (Bill) Dickes; and grandchildren, Kelsey, Arden and Madison Beaudry. He was preceded in death by his mother Mae Bogner. Calling will be from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 in the Broad Ripple Flanner and Buchanan funeral home. Funeral services will be at Faith Missionary Church in Indianapolis at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 24th, 2009. Contributions can be made to the Faith Missionary Church and CARA Charities.

A tribute to our hero, by Kelsey Beaudry

A Hero Worth Remembering

When we think of a hero, we think of someone with supernatural powers, like in a comic book or movie. Is there something more to them than being super strong or super fast? Are they freaks of nature or real people with a purpose? Personally, I think that a hero is someone that you can look up to and you can say, “Yeah, they’re not perfect, but they’ve done a good thing in their life." My hero is my Papa. He is a good person, who never gives up. He grew up in Nebraska. His father owned a gas station. When he was older he served his country in the Vietnam War. Even though he has had his fair share of struggles, he never gave up or lost faith. That is what makes him my hero.

My Papa has been sick for quite a while. In 2002, he was diagnosed with cancer. He took it about as well as he could, although he asked himself “Why did this happen to me?" and listened to his doctor. He took his medicines and continued to live life like normal. Then one day, things started to take a turn for the worse. He had been on many different medications, and the one he was currently on was no longer working. The tumors were growing, and the doctors were running out of options. Approved cancer treatments for his type of cancer had been exhausted; consequently, he was put on an experimental medicine. The medicines were not effective, and he was eventually put back on his old protocol. Then, he started to get fluid in his abdomen. The fluid pressed against his lungs, making it hard to breathe and on his stomach, so he couldn’t eat. His red blood cell count was extremely low, and his blood had been thinned to get rid of a blood clot. He lost quite a bit of weight. Finally his doctors were able to drain the fluid from his stomach, taking more than 3 liters. Through this whole time he never gave up or lost faith. He is doing better now, but he is still in and out of the hospital for treatment. He really inspires me that if he could not lose hope even when times got rough, that I shouldn’t either.

My Papa is a fighter, and I admire him for that. For many years he has silently battled his cancer, and he has not complained once. His faith allows him to trust that God is in control even in his illness and believes that God has a plan for his life. I know that he doesn’t fear death. He knows that life is only temporary, and when his human body fails him, he will go to heaven. He told me, “I have given my life to the LORD." On that day, he will get to see his family once again. Until that day, he will keep on fighting.

My Papa also inspires me to be all that I can be. I remember when I was younger that when we would go over to my Grammy’s house, after dinner, we would sit down and he would teach me all sorts of things about math. My Papa says, “Education is important, and you should study the things you love, then when you get a career doing what you love, life’s pretty good." He is my inspiration to do well in school and later on in life.

A hero is someone that inspires you, whether it’s to do better in school or go do charity work. That person can be anybody in your life. My greatest hero is my Papa. My Papa inspires me everyday just by getting up and living his life as normal as possible. Who knows? Maybe he does have some supernatural power, or maybe he’s just a regular person like the rest of us. My Papa says, “A hero is someone above and beyond the average person." To me, my Papa is that person.

01/18/09 Jim Bogner, husband of long-time CARA Charities President Mary Lou Bogner has died suddenly. James Michael Bogner passed away January 18, 2009 at 4:15 AM. The previous morning he was unable to get out of bed. After being rushed to the Martin Memorial Hospital North in Stuart, FL they discovered his potassium was very high and that can cause your heart to stop. They also discovered that his kidneys had shut down because of severe dehydration and he had to have dialysis that evening. He was very uncomfortable and very restless all night, but it was too late. He died in the wee hours of the morning. Funeral arrangements when we get them…..

Our condolences to Mary Lou and her family.