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BOSTIAN--Barry, retired educational publishing executive, died of lung cancer Monday, April 22, at his home in Orlando, FL. He was 71. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Donaline Jordan Bostian of Orlando; two children, daughter Beth Bostian of Richmond, VA, and son Matthew Adam Bostian of Orlando; and sister Betty Boliek of Augusta, GA. Born in Concord, NC, on August 27, 1940, Barry was the son of Herman C. and Helen O. Bostian of nearby Kannapolis, NC. He graduated from A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis in 1958 and from what is now Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC, in 1961. That same year he married Donaline Jordan of Kannapolis. He began his career in 1961 teaching English at Concord High School. After completing his master's degree at the University of North Carolina, he continued teaching at what is now Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, NC. His special literary interest was the American novel, and his favorite authors were Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and others who wrote to communicate rather than obfuscate. His favorite novel was Twain's Huckleberry Finn, which he felt was, for those who read between the lines, the most powerful argument against slavery and racial prejudice ever written. In 1967, he joined publisher Harcourt Brace & World, which was about to launch a highly innovative grammar textbook series for elementary and junior high schools. He remained at Harcourt for 36 years, serving in various management and administrative capacities. In the early 1980s, just as computer technology was beginning to impact schools, he was named Vice President and Director of Technology Marketing. He retired from Harcourt in 2003 and worked as a part-time representative for the Command Group of Printing Companies, based in Secaucus, NJ. He was an avid golfer and author of The Fairly Official NESH Guide To Great Golf Games, a privately published book distributed to friends and members of the Noble and Exalted Society of Hackers, a golf club he co-founded. He was interested in birds and indulged his passion for plants by fastidiously caring for a collection of orchids amassed over three decades. A celebration of his life will be held at the family home in Orlando on May 4, 2012. In lieu of flowers, please consider planting a tree or shrub with Barry in mind or making a donation to the Orange Audubon Society at www.orangeaudubonfl.org.
Published in The New York Times on Apr. 27, 2012
