By Lance and Helen Bosart
Although we know that the pain and hurt of losing a son will
never go away for the rest of our lives, our ability to cope with
the tragedy is helped by articles like the Daily Bruin’s that
capture the quintessential Brian Bosart (“Graduate student
dies in car accident,” News, June 2). We deeply appreciated
that Professor Roger Wakimoto and graduate students Amy
Boonsiriseth and Paul Graves of the UCLA department of atmospheric
science were present for Brian’s memorial service last
Saturday.
Professor Wakimoto delivered a moving testimonial that included
many letters of tribute from UCLA students, staff and faculty
members. We enjoyed hearing many details of a part of Brian’s
life that was mostly hidden from us, and we enjoyed learning how
highly regarded he was as a person and as a budding young
scientist.
Brian grew up in Guilderland, N.Y., where we have lived since
1969. A love for travel was in Brian’s blood. His travel bug
can probably be attributed to all the family trips we took while he
was growing up and the summers we spent in Boulder, Colo., and
elsewhere. Brian was also very fortunate that he had a group of
childhood friends with whom he remained very tight over the years.
He was also very close to a second group of Cornell buddies with
diverse cultural backgrounds. We believe that these close
relationships helped to contribute to his excellent people skills
that were remarked upon in the article.
Brian grew professionally at a rapid rate during his four years
at UCLA. We are very grateful that Professor Wakimoto gave Brian
many academic opportunities to foster his intellectual growth.
Professor Wakimoto was Brian’s academic father. It is very
clear from the outpouring of affection for Brian that he was held
in considerable esteem, both professionally and personally, by
members of the UCLA department of atmospheric science. We will
always cherish his memory.