Richard Henry Bogard

1926 - 2019

Richard Henry Bogard
PEORIA - Richard Henry Bogard, age 92, passed away on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, at Buehler Home in Peoria, where he was a resident.
Dick was born on April 21, 1926, in Peoria to Asher Holland and Corda Ann (Mattoon) Bogard. He married Mary Ilene O'Hanlon on March 31, 1951, in Yellow Springs, OH. She preceded him in death on March 31, 1987. He married Suzanne Kay Eckdahl Broughton Turner on June 5, 1987. She survives.
Also surviving are his three natural born children, Claudia Bogard (John Sindelar) of Potomac, MD, Daryl Bogard (Judith Gass) of Irvine, CA, and Andrea (Rodger) LeBlanc of Sarasota, FL; his adopted daughter, Kimberly (Sie) Maroon of Peoria; and his sister, Mary Jane Keller of Naples, FL.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Barbara Ann Myers; and one grandson, Garret Bogard.
He graduated from Peoria High School on D-Day in 1944, where he was a star baseball pitcher and was later twice inducted into the PHS Athletic Hall of Fame. In his junior season, Dick pitched a no-hitter, the team made it to the state semifinals and he was selected to the all-state team.
Dick was drafted into the U.S. Army and served as a rifleman in Company A, 30th Infantry Regiment, Third Division, during World War II in France. During combat he froze his feet. For his contributions in the Battle of the Colmar Pocket during the uncommonly cold winter of 1944-45, he was awarded the Bronze Star, Presidential Unit Citation, Combat Infantryman's Badge and two Battle Stars. The French government awarded him the Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 and later its highest award, The Legion of Honor medal.
Dick earned a B.S. degree in Pharmacy from the University of Michigan in 1950, where he was a member of the baseball team, Phi Delta Chi pharmacy fraternity and Theta Delta Chi social fraternity. As a senior, he pitched in two games on the Big Ten championship team.
Back in Peoria, he continued his two passions, pharmacy and baseball, going to work in a brand new drug store of his own. He played semi-pro baseball as a pitcher in the Peoria Sunday Morning League, the oldest amateur Men's Baseball League in the U.S.
The Bogard Drug Store chain had been founded in 1928 by his father some fifteen months before the stock market crash. Dick retired in 1992 as the President and Chairman of the Board of Bogard Drug Stores, Inc., a chain of five stores.
Dick was president of the Illinois Pharmacists Association and the Central Illinois Pharmacists Association. He was an active member of the National Association of Retail Druggists and the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy (AIHP).
His hobbies included attending sports events, golfing, fishing, traveling and gourmet dining. He was a member of the Peoria Cosmopolitan Club and the QM, a gourmet dining group. He traveled to 49 of the U.S. states and 48 countries.
Dick was an avid Cubs fan his entire life. One of Dick's happiest moments was seeing the Cubs win the World Series in 2016. He had attended games in every major league ballpark and was a member of The Baseball Reliquary.
Cremation rites were accorded in the fall. A celebration of his life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 20, at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Peoria, 3000 W. Richwoods Blvd., where he was a member for nearly 60 years and served a term as president.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, 777 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705.
Online condolences may be left at www.thewiltonmortuary.com.