These pages are in loving memory of Brad Bosler,  a wonderful friend of Jason, Bobby, and Justin.

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Gordon Bradley Bosler has brightened our lives since his birth on September 19, 1986 in Fresno, California.  His untimely death in Porterville, California on June 13, 2004 has cast a shadow over all who knew him.  We are comforted with the assurance that through Jesus Christ we will one day be reunited with him and our sorrow will be no more.

 Brad had just completed his junior year at Central Valley Christian High School, where he participated in football, soccer, and baseball.  He was chosen to be the most valuable player for soccer.  Brad was recently honored as the “Most Improved” player for the 2004 baseball season and was a Second Team All League selection.  He was an active participant in the Evangelical Free Church in Porterville.

​

 Brad is survived by his parents, Scott and Bonnie Bosler, his sisters, Emily and Annalee, his grandparents, Gordon and Nancy Bosler and Vivien Harkness, aunts, uncles, cousins, and a host of friends.

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 A celebration of Brad’s life will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, June 17, 2004 at the Visalia First Assembly of God church at 3737 S. Akers Road in Visalia. 

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 Memorial gifts in lieu of flowers may be sent to any Citizens Business Bank, Acct #36104856, Acct Name, The Scott & Bonnie Memorial Fund.

 

Dear Family and Friends,

 We are so blessed to be surrounded by such incredible family and friends.  Our sources of comfort are found in your love and prayers, in the abiding comfort of a loving Heavenly Father, and in the blessed hope we have in Christ.

Brad was loved by God and he loved God.  Our prayer for you is that you would have those experiences personally as well.

May God bless you richly--  He certainly blessed us.

The Bosler Family
 

 Eulogy
presented by Bob Craine, written by Jeannie Craine 

Gordon Bradley Bosler
(Brad to us) 

An almost finished red truck. 

A just missed senior year. 

Only three months from his eighteenth birthday. 

 There are those who would say that Brad’s life was cut short.  And to be honest, we weren’t ready to let him go just yet.  There was so much we were looking forward to:  High school graduation, college, marriage, and a family just to mention a few.

 But the truth of the matter is, his job here on Earth is done.  And boy, did he do a wonderful job!  Brad was a sensitive, caring, young man whose mark on the lives of others will live on in immeasurable ways.  He honored us so often simply by giving of himself and his time.  He remembered our boys as he strove in his athletic endeavors.  He included our daughter in his preparations for the Winter Formal and then continued to keep in touch, even though she was away at school.  Sometimes he sat and shared memories of our son with us while other times he shared what was going on in his life.  The memory of that soft, deep, voice will always bring a smile to our faces.  It was evident that he truly lived his life the way Jesus directed him to.

 While our hearts ache as we miss Brad’s presence, it is important to remember that God had numbered his days even before Scott and Bonnie’s love had knitted him in her womb.  Brad had fulfilled his purpose here and now is reaping his eternal rewards.  Oh how we miss him, but oh the time he must be having!!!

 Bonnie, Scott, Emily, and Annie, thank you for sharing your amazing son and brother with us.  You did good.  That young man was awesome.  He made an impressive mark in the lives of many.  We are so very proud and thankful to have known him for the short time that God loaned him to us, and look forward to our real future when we will be reunited in Heaven.

   Eulogy
 presented and written by Sue Garabedian 
 

 I am Brad’s Auntie Sue.  Though I have loved Brad since before he was born, this week I have come to accept that many others knew Brad better than I.  
I knew Brad best through the eyes and hearts of my children, their mutual love and respect was very evident.  I know of Emily and Annie’s adoration for their brother but I experienced their greatest love, adoration, and respect for one another when they were all together as “The Cousins.”   The Bosler cousins were an unstoppable ball of energy and laughter.  

From my sister-in-law, Bonnie, I have learned of the depth of the goodness and sweetness in that little chubby boy that had stayed in that tall, lean young man.   
 
This week I’ve learned from my brother, Scott of Brad’s love for Country-Western music.  I don’t know how often Brad listened to Josh Turner’s song Long Black Train but I now know that one only needs to hear it once to recognize the powerful message in the lyrics.  And in the deep, strong voice of the artist it is almost as if the song has become Brad’s own.  

 There's an engineer on that long black train 

 making you wonder if [this] ride is worth the pain;   

that train is a beauty, making everybody stare 

but its only destination is the middle of nowhere. 

But you know there's victory in the Lord, I say 

 Victory in the Lord.   

Cling to the Father and His holy name 

and don’t go riding on that long black train.   

 As Brad’s Auntie Sue, I had dreamed of an admirable G.B. Bosler visiting me in my old age, telling me of his latest adventures, or talking about how his favorite sports team was doing, or sharing his latest revelation from God.  The accident on Sunday only means that my next visit with Brad will be in a better place, when Brad and I will be experiencing the same adventure of being in the magnificent presence of God, and that we will remember this sorrow no more.  

  Whether we admit it or not, all of us have a ticket for a train.  Brad’s ticket was on a train bound for glory.  If you’re not sure which ticket you have, there’s still time to change it.  But don’t delay, we don’t know how long we have and Brad would want everyone to know they don’t have to take that long, black train. 
 
 
   Eulogy
 presented by Bob Craine - written by Jennifer Harden

My Son

 My Father in Heaven
 How could it be?
 This little baby
 Just for me.
 To love and to hold
 His heart, you did mold,
 The blessings he brought
 The love that was taught.
 The great role he played
 Your Son, my treasure
 Thank you oh Lord for the pleasure
 A Gift so sweet
 A love so deep.
 Watch over him Lord
 He has been called home
 His work complete
 I will cherish the day
 Our hearts will meet
 To live together again
 To be in the place it all began
 Rest my son
 You are with The One
 Who made you and saved you.
 My love for you
 Will always stay
 Inside my heart
 Until my final day Y

                     I love you Bonnie
                          Jennifer Harden
 

 Eulogy
 presented by Jeannie Craine - written by Bonnie Bosler 
  

A letter written to God by Bonnie Bosler, Brad’s mom.      

 Thank you, Lord, for the beautiful gift of a son in Brad!  He was everything a son could be…how blessed I’ve been.   

 As a baby and a little guy he was so easy going.  Many of my young mother friends would comment on how it wasn’t fair he was such a good baby.

 Thank you for the years of home-schooling him and how it helped establish the cherished mother-son relationship we had.  Brad blessed me with his tender heart from childhood up to his last day. He was eager to please, asking forgiveness or apologizing when he had been hurtful, initiating “Good night Mom, I love you” or “Good –bye Mom, I love you” even if friends were in earshot. Oh, how he would make me laugh!  He blessed my life more than I ever thought a son could…especially a teenage one!

 Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of a son who was such a good brother to his sisters. He played his big brother role well:  Being obnoxious, teasing, doing or saying whatever, just to get a rise out of Emily and Annie.  But, oh, how he loved them.  It  blessed me deeply to see the close friendship develop in the last year and a half between he and Emily.  He began to open up that tender caring heart of his with her, which I thought was remarkable for the ages they were.  How precious it was to watch or overhear he and Annie together!  She was his “buddy” and he was her Bubba.  Whether he was working on his truck, mowing the lawn, or being his inventive self, she was often right by his side helping:  Handing him tools, building right along with him and sometimes doing his chores.  Thank you, Lord, for a son who wasn’t afraid to love his sisters.

 Thank you, for the precious relationship he had with his dad. . Brad idolized his dad, which I believe contributed to the young man he became.  They loved so many of the same things and shared interests.  Their love of sports—most any sport-- had grown so special.  They would talk baseball, soccer, or football and it would sound like a different language to me.  I’ve often said Brad was born with Scott’s athletic ability and my temperment……  “Are we having fun yet?”  But over the last several years he was developing into quite the competitor.  Thank you Lord for that gift to my husband.

 Lord, as his mom, I attribute all he was to you!  I witnessed Brad embrace a personal relationship with you. Watching him grow from a little guy to a young man, and all the things he went through, he had an increasing desire to live a life for you.  He wrestled with it at times, and by no means was perfect, but I saw the fruit along the way.  I believe it was because of who You were to him that made him the great son and brother he was to our family.  Thank you for your work in his life, what a gift!

 As I close this time with you Lord, thank you for the blessed hope I have in you.  Your Word tells us our days are numbered….Even when I carried Brad in my womb, You knew June 13th would be the day you would allow him to “come home” to You.  It didn’t take you by surprise, as it did me, and some how I find great comfort in that---

 I am overwhelmed being on this side of losing a son----

 I would not have agreed to Brad’s death…That wouldn’t be my choice, but to think that You chose, designed, and gave willfully, Your only Son, just so I could have relationship with you, is more overwhelming than ever.

 Oh, how I would love to have Bradley back, but I’m going to choose to try and focus on the precious gift I had for almost 18 years.  I also look forward, more than ever, to being with You, knowing Bradley, too, waits for me.

 Thank you for the hope.

 I look to you for my strength.

 With a heart full of gratefulness that we all know you,

 And trusting in you Sovereignty,

 Your daughter,
  Bonnie
 

   Eulogy
  presented by Terry Adkins - written by Scott Bosler

Our Brad

From the moment you appeared on the scene, you were instantaneously and overwhelmingly loved more than life.  Your dad often reflected on your birth and would comment that when you were born, he was struck by two profound thoughts—how much he was loved by his parents and how much he was loved by God.  Until you were born, he hadn’t known that love to the depth and degree that he discovered on that day.

Like most parents, we were absolutely delighted to have you—but from the beginning you would always make life interesting—your jaundiced condition would force us to return to the hospital with you after a couple of days and that was just the beginning of several trips to seek medical attention.  At 16 months you would break your leg—at 2 years you would be diagnosed with a serious bone infection—at the age of four you would have double hernia surgery—then there was the time you ingested several of your Dad’s pain pills that required a night in the intensive care unit. 

How many stitches could one face absorb?  There was the time as a toddler when you were hit by the neighbor girl riding her bike.  Then there was the time you and your little sister collided in the hallway—she ended up with a bump and you with more stitches.  And there was the time you collided with the fender of the truck while playing baseball for another trip to the emergency room.  Long term, the stitches never diminished your handsomeness.

A remembrance of your life would not be remotely complete without mentioning adventure and athletics.  We’ll always recall the motorcycle riding at Pismo, the backpacking, the rock-climbing, the high-ropes course, the rappelling, the sailing, the surfing, the jet-skiing, the water-skiing, the snow-skiing, the skate-boarding, the snow-boarding, the knee-boarding, the boogie-boarding, the wake boarding—your life was far from bored because you were often on some type of board.

My how you loved playing sports—it seemed as though your favorite sport was whatever you were playing at the time.  Whether it was soccer, football, basketball or baseball.  You had multiple all-star experiences in soccer and baseball and your most proud achievements occurred this year when you were selected as the most valuable player in soccer and most improved player and second-team all league selection in baseball.  You caught the game of your life and Luke threw a whale of a game in the semi-final championship against Templeton.  It was a highlight of your season to be able to wear the catcher’s equipment donated to CVC by Braves catcher Johnny Estrada.   We’ll miss watching you play and were so grateful  you had Coach Champlin for your final season.

 Something that inspired you to give your all in sports was the tragic loss of your three best friends in a private plane accident.  You felt like you should have been on the plane with them and we were so grateful that you weren’t.  We remember your frustration as the search for the boys lingered for days and you were confident that you could find them because you knew how they thought and had such a good sense of direction.  You remember that time when you were four years old and your directed your cousin Shawn from Disneyland to our home in Fullerton, don’t you?

In memory of your closest friends you played football, basketball and baseball with a vengeance—always wearing wristbands with their numbers embroidered on those blue and white bands—and they inspired you to dig deep and leave it all on the field or court which is why as a sophomore you won a coaches award in football and most improved in basketball.  Again, you made us so proud.

We remember how overwhelmed to tears of joy you were when our neighbors, Rick and Sandy Smith presented you with your letterman’s jacket with all its patches and pins—you thanked them from the bottom of your heart for all their love and support through the years.

You were such a tease of your family and occasionally given to mischievousness.  Undoubtedly you remember the time you took a dive into a mud puddle on a dare for a 100 bucks while in middle-school and you were disciplined by the school and by us—you were so remorseful about claiming to be pushed by two classmates.  What you may not know is privately, the principal—Mr. Postmus—thought it was one of the funniest things he had ever witnessed.   

You admitted that having a form of dyslexia was your greatest lifelong struggle.  In spite of your struggle, you persevered and achieved a 3.0 GPA in high school.  Your assessment of your circumstance was that God’s Word tells us that He will not allow anything we can’t handle and you believed that dyslexia was not too difficult challenge to face.  Your life verse once again gave you the right perspective—“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  And you knew that you could make it.

God had just gifted you in other ways besides academically—you were always our “idea guy”—coming up with mechanical solutions around the house for appliances and automobiles.  You were so good with your hands and could put things back together that your dad had taken apart.  The truck was so fun to work on together and your dad’s one regret is that you never got to drive it.  He would tell you, “Man Brad, that sure is a good looking truck—better looking than when I had it in high school” and you would always say, “It will look better going down the road.”  It went down the road again just yesterday.

God had also gifted you spiritually.  He first gave you the gift of eternal life through faith in Christ.  Then He gifted you with a servant’s heart, the gift of giving and the spiritual gift of leadership.  We were always so proud of your involvement in ministry in the church and how you lived your life for Christ—at home, at school on missions’ trips—wherever you happened to be.  You had some amazing adult role models in the youth ministries in Visalia and Porterville.  Men like Glenn Larson, Scott Hord and Rudy Martinez marked your life for eternity.

You were so respected and loved by your friends and adults and you were cherished by children.  You were such a natural with younger kids—you would have been an awesome father!  Spending time with your cousins was always a joy and a priority in your life, 

We’ll always miss and never forget your smile, that deep voice, your sense of humor and contagious laughter.  We remember that strapping 6’ 1” frame and your desire to be a fireman so that you could potentially rescue someone from a life-threatening situation, becoming someone’s hero.  Your last act on this earth was the fulfillment of that desire.  Jesus said it best when He said, “Greater love has no man than he lay down his life for his friends.”  You proved to be loving and selfless—genuine marks of an authentic follower of Christ.

For our part, we never dreamed that at the most horrible moments, God could be so good.  Brad, you were good and perfect gift from the Father—He loaned you to us for nearly 18 years and we will cherish every memory and every moment.
The Lord has blessed you and kept you and caused His face to shine on you and He has granted you His peace—He is doing the same for your mom and dad and Emily and Annie.  Thanks for the incredible privilege of being your parents for 17 plus years!   

 Written by Brad

 My Life Long Struggle
 by Brad Bosler

 In life everyone has their struggles, one of mine is dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disability that makes it harder in school for kids like me. There are all different forms of dyslexia. Even though my form is very mild, it is extreme to my learning in school. I struggle in all areas of reading, writing, and spelling.

 Through my dyslexia I am learning to be patient, meaning that I am not the only one, and that there is help for me. Even though I sometimes feel there is no hope and want to give up, I remember the help I can get. I’m reminded of famous people with dyslexia that have been successful like Charles Schwab and Albert Einstein.

 I will never like having dyslexia. I feel I have to work a lot harder than most other kids in the eighth grade. I’m uncomfortable in the classroom when teachers have us read out loud. When my classmates correct my writing assignments, it makes me feel stupid because of my spelling and punctuation. Homework takes up all my time, from the time I get home to the time I go to bed. My struggle with dyslexia sometimes makes me feel like I am less of a person.

 Even though dyslexia is a downfall in my life, I have many advantages. I have a great family who loves me, good friends that I hope like me and a talent in sports. Sometime later in life I think it will help me through harder struggles.

 My brain is different. Sometimes my “b” changes into a “d” and my “2" changes into a “5". I have to memorize information with different techniques. There is no cure for dyslexia but I’m learning to compensate in reading, writing, and spelling.

 In God’s Word He tells us that He will not allow anything we can’t handle. I believe that dyslexia is not a challenge that is not too hard for me to face, but one that I will have to work through. Just as Phillipians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me,” I know I can make it!

 
 The Truck
 by Brad Bosler

 I have had a dream ever since I was eight years old. It started because of my dad.

 When my Dad was in high school, he drove a 1976, GMC, step side. It was a single cab, short bed, ½ ton. He bought it brand new from the dealer for $5,100. My Dad drove this pick up during high school, collage, and right up till three years ago. Throughout those years it got a little banged up. You could even say it got really banged up.

 Since I was a little boy my Dad had this idea that I would drive this pick up as my first car. He talked about it, and I would have too, but all I could talk about was how I couldn’t wait to drive. The older I got, the more I learned and understood. Then I started thinking more about fixing the truck up and restoring it.  At first I thought there was just a few things that needed to be done, a few touch ups and it would be ready. Come to find out, it was a little more than that. The older I got the more and more it started to become complicated. I started looking at magazines, thinking about it, asking questions and picturing in my mind what I ultimately wanted the truck to be like.

 I started mowing lawns for neighbors and then saving my money for the truck. When I was done looking at magazines and adding all the prices up for the repairs and the replacement of certain parts, it felt like an impossibility to even start on the truck. There were times we thought should we sell the truck and try to buy something else. Before we could get a sign on it, we would realize how sentimental it was and how we couldn’t let go of it. We even had some people stop by our house, asking if we wanted to sell the truck just as it was. We told each of them “no” because it was a dream to fix it up and have me drive it. So we kept it.

 There was one summer I thought I could work on it. When the summer came around I didn’t know enough to do any thing by my self, or even have the right tools to begin the restoration project. Two months before I got my license is when we seriously started working on it. At first I was frustrated because we got started on it so late. There would be no way it would be ready by the time I was ready with my license. After a while, when it started coming together I became grateful for the progress we already had made.

 We started on the engine. We took the engine out of the pick up and then started taking things apart. Then we took it to a shop to have it machined. During the time it took them to machine the engine, we cleaned and painted the engine compartment and under the truck. We got all the other parts out that needed to be painted. Soon after that we got the engine from the shop. We had some prep work to do on the block, and then we rebuilt the engine in order to put it back into the truck. After completing the engine, we planned to do the paint and body. When we were done with that, it would be time to begin the interior.

 As we did all the engine preparation and then put it back together, to finally get it in the truck, there was something that went wrong. We got the block in and once it was set, we were so exited just thinking about hearing the roar of the engine. So we connected all the hoses, plugs, and tubes just enough to be able to start it. I got the key and put it in the ignition. Now this was the moment we all had been waiting for. Within the first ten seconds of the engine running is when you know if you did every thing correct or not.

 So as I turned the key and I heard the engine trying to start. There was something wrong though. The engine should have been starting, but it just wouldn’t turn over. It would kick but just wouldn’t go all the way. We checked every thing, even poured gasoline into the carburetor to maybe help it out. Still nothing, there was not a single thing we could think of to do to make it run. The truck was a mess; it was all in pieces besides the engine.

 I looked toward the middle of the truck and noticed something missing. At first I couldn’t tell I just knew something was wrong. I looked closer and noticed nothing was connected to the fuel line. After we got the gas tank attached we try starting it again. We were very exited because we knew that the truck would start now. We called several of are friends over to witness this great event. There was still something wrong with the engine, it would not turn over. All it would do is kick. We became very frustrated and embarrassed. Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for and there was nothing to show for it. After we had spent all this time, money and energy, it seemed like it was a total waste.

 I wanted to take a chain saw to the whole thing. Right in the middle of my chain saw thought, my youngest sister asked, “Does it have fuel in the tank?” I thought she was mocking us, so I said, “of course there is… wait a minute” it made perfect sense. That is why it hadn’t started. I checked the gas tank and it was as dry as a desert. Now I really felt embarrassed, my youngest sister thought to put gas in the truck before I did.
 
 Newspaper Article

 Teenager drowns in canal undercurrents
 Swim in ditch near Porterville leads to death 

By Heidi Rowley, and David Castellon - Staff writers 

Brad Bosler, 17, was an all-around athlete at Central Valley Christian High School, but his athletic skills couldn't save him when he and a friend entered the cold water of a canal near Porterville on Sunday. 

"I couldn't believe it. It's just one of those things that sends chills down your body, and you don't want to believe it's true. It's like a bad rumor or something," Chris Champlin, CVC's head baseball coach, said Tuesday. He said a fellow player had told him of the drowning Sunday night. 

Champlin said Bosler made a strong impression. 

"He was a great kid. He was always the last one to leave practice, and this season I gave him the Most Improved Player of the Year award," Champlin said. "He was a kid who had never played catcher before." 

But when an opening came up for a new catcher, one of the toughest positions on a baseball team, Bosler stepped up to the challenge, Champlin said. 

"He was a strong kid and a smart kid," Champlin said. 

After hearing about Bosler's death, Champlin and several of Bosler's fellow athletes went to the family's home Monday. 

"They're doing all right," Champlin said of the students. "They were pretty shook up at the beginning. I think the couple of hours we spent with [the Bosler family] helped. We showed our support for the family and talked things through." 

And that visit also helped the Boslers, said Bob Craine of Visalia, a friend reached at the family's home Tuesday. 

"I think they're honored and comforted by that [visit]," Craine said. "That's part of the healing process for all of us." He said Bosler's parents, Scott and Bonnie Bos-ler, declined to be interviewed. Scott Bosler is senior pastor at the Evangelical Free Church in Porterville. 

"He and his dad went everywhere together. They were really close," Champlin said. "And they both loved baseball." 

Brad loved the game so much he planned to play for two summer baseball leagues in Hanford and at College of the Sequoias. 

"He had a strong desire for life and was really into practicing hard to achieve his goals," Craine said. 

Craine wouldn't discuss the accident or the other teenager who was swimming with Bosler except to say that "I think he's struggling emotionally. ... I know that we're praying for him. Not only for him, but his family as well." 

Bosler and the friend, who has not been identified, were swimming on Sunday in an irrigation ditch off of the Friant-Kern Canal, north of Avenue 178. 

Rescuers said the current was too strong. The friend was stuck on a concrete block, and Bosler was carried downstream. 

Jerry Swartzlander, California Department of For-estry and Fire Protection battalion chief, said when he arrived the friend was trap-ped on top of a gauging station, water up to his waist. 

"It's a cement thing that measures the water that goes out," he said. 

Once the other youth was pulled out of the canal, rescuers learned that Bosler had been carried downstream. 

Swartzlander said firefighters found Bosler's body about a quarter-mile downstream, lying on the bottom of the canal, stuck in a sand bar. Swartzlander said the water was about 55 degrees and moving quickly. 

"People shouldn't be in there; it's that undercurrent that gets you," Swartzlander said, warning people to stay away from the canals.