William Armstrong Boucher

William A. (Bill) Boucher passed away on Monday, June 4th, 2018.  He was born July 31, 1932 in Kansas City, MO.

After graduating from high school in St. Joseph, MO, he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY and graduated in 1954 as a 2nd Lt. in the Air Force.  He served 23 years  in the Air Force as a pilot and in various Engineering capacities.  Following a tour as an F-4 pilot with the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing in Vietnam where he said his greatest accomplishment was returning safely from 152 combat missions, Bill returned to Los Angeles, CA as the Chief of Engineering on a space reconnaissance satellite.  He retired from the Air Force in 1977, having achieved the rank of Colonel.

Bill always gave his mother credit for shaping his young life.  One of his memorable experiences was being expelled from the Cub Scouts for disciplinary reasons by his own mother who was the den mother.  This served as a wake-up call which he filed away for reference in later life.  He also grew up learning that there was no greater call than serving your country in the armed forces.  He was proud of his military service and followed in the footsteps of his father, who served in Europe in WW1, and his two older brothers, one in the Air Force and the other in the Army.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, Rene, formerly of Palm Bay, FL and his older brother, Robert, who died in an Air Force aircraft accident.  He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Shirley Anne; son, Brad of Los Angeles, CA; brother, John, of Silver Spring, MD; sister, Sally, of Kansas City, MO; and ten nieces.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 8 at 11:30 AM at McLaughlin Twin Cities Funeral Home, 1405 John Sims Parkway East, Niceville, Fl. The family will receive visitors 1 hour prior. A reception will follow at One Water Place, building 2, Destin.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Disabled American Veterans.

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