Philippe Ovide Bouchard

Philippe Ovide Bouchard Philippe Ovide Bouchard Brigadier General Philippe Ovide Bouchard, USAF (retired), died on June 9 at his home in Beavercreek, Ohio, after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. General Bouchard was born in Salem, Mass. in 1932. He graduated from St. John's Preparatory School, Danvers, in 1949. After spending two years at M.I.T., he was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1955 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force. General Bouchard's 31 year service in the USAF included a tour of duty in Vietnam where he flew 412 combat missions serving as a Forward Air Controller, as well as engineering education positions which included seven years on the Aeronautics faculty at the USAF Academy. He later commanded three separate R&D laboratories for the USAF and finally returned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio to become Vice Commander, Aeronautical Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command. He was promoted to Brigadier General Aug. 1, 1983 and retired Oct. 1, 1986. Upon retirement from the USAF as a Brigadier General, he established and directed the Center for Artificial Applications, a consortium of seven Ohio Universities applying artificial intelligence technology to USAF challenges. He later became president and CEO of Universal Technology Corporation from which he retired in 1997. General Bouchard was a command pilot. His military decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with 14 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal and Army Commendation Medal with "V" device. He resided near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base outside Dayton, Ohio for the remainder of his life. He was very active in his local community and with his church. His hobbies included flying as a sailplane instructor pilot, golf, and painting. General Bouchard is survived by his wife of 52 years, Carol, his four children and their families as well as his four brothers and their families, including his niece, Donna Bouchard and her husband David McHarg of Wayland, a grand-nephew, Rory McHarg, and a grand-niece, Fiona McHarg, also of Wayland, for whom he maintained a very special fondness after helping her with her 2nd grade project about Ohio. |