Memorial service scheduled for Boggs

Thursday, September 3, 2009

A memorial service for Oklahoma State University alumnus and former administrator Dr. James H. “Jay” Boggs is set for Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 1:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater. It will be followed by a reception in the fellowship hall. Boggs, who retired in 1991 from OSU, died Saturday, Aug. 29, at his home in Indianapolis, Ind., at 88 years of age.

As an undergraduate, he met Jimmie Lea Evans at OSU, whom he married on Jan. 7, 1943. Boggs graduated later that year with a B.S. in mechanical engineering with an aeronautical option, earning his M.S. from the same school in 1948. He received a Ph.D. from Purdue University in thermodymanics and heat transfer in 1953.

After serving in the Navy during World War II, Boggs returned to Stillwater where he advanced as a professor who was a popular instructor. Boggs was selected as head of the School of Mechanical Engineering and then dean of the Graduate College at OSU. For the last 25 years of his tenure at OSU, Boggs served as vice president for academic affairs and research, and twice as OSU’s interim president.

His dedication to improving the university’s research can be seen in the many institutions he recommended and established, including the Environmental Institute and Water Research Center, the University Center for Energy Research and the University Center for Laser Research. To share remembrances, please visit www.IndianaFuneralCare.com . In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the James H. and Jimmie Lee Boggs Presidential Scholarship Fund, OSU Foundation, 400 Monroe St., Stillwater, OK. 74076.