Mark Frederic Bohms

Mark Bohms, age 68, died at Anchorage's Providence Medical Center from complications of bladder cancer. Born and raised in Fairbanks, Mark's first love was flying. While in high school, he earned his private pilot's license and learned to fly in the family's Cessna 140, later working as a commercial pilot for many years. Later the lure of the ocean took him to making a life on the water. He sailed the Pacific Ocean extensively until his final year of life. He especially loved sailing and scuba diving around the Hawaiian Islands. "Not many places have beaches as beautiful". He loved the islands as his home away from his Alaskan home. While reminiscing in his final weeks of life, he recalled hiking Oahu's "Stairway to Heaven". He'd say that he got a sneak peek at Paradise. Mark loved the peace and quiet of a sailboat, but sometimes that quiet was unexpectedly interrupted by visitors. While sailing around the north end of Vancouver Island, he once encountered a curious humpback. The whale surfaced right next to his sailboat to get a better look at him. Mark recounted looking into an enormous whale eye for several seconds before it went back down, only to surface again a short distance in front of the boat. Mark's memorial is to remind everyone to take their health seriously. If something unusual develops, don't 'wait and see' if it resolves itself. Get it checked out before it's too late. Mark is survived by his mother, Ruth Bohms, three sisters: Cathy (Richard) Giessel, Ellen (Rick) Bohms, Julia (Stephen) Cordz, ten nephews and nieces, and eight grand-nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his father, Gerald J. Bohms. "Death ends a life, not a relationship." RIP, Mark.