By EARL KELLY, Staff Writer
Capital Gazette Communications
Published 07/10/11
It was a funeral that commanded governors, a grand show of respect for a life devoted to public service.
But it was a modest, quiet moment that best conveyed the magnitude of the loss, a private display of emotion that served as a touching goodbye to a political mentor and a good friend.
As a Marine Corps bugler played "Taps" over former Del. David Boschert's grave yesterday, Del. Cathy Vitale stood just off to one side, in a crowd of many yet alone with her thoughts, tears streaming down her face.
"What a beautiful place," Vitale said softly, as birds sang in the stately cedar trees on the hillside, and delicate butterflies fluttered about among the mourners.
Boschert's funeral, at Our Lady of the Fields Church in Millersville, attracted a host of political heavyweights. On one pew sat former Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr., former first lady Kendel Ehrlich, former Gov. Marvin Mandel, Comptroller Peter Franchot and influential Annapolis lobbyist Bruce Bereano.
Elsewhere in the crowd of about 400 were Dels. Tony McConkey and Ted Sophocleus from Anne Arundel, former County Executive Janet Owens, and Del. Rudolph Cane from Dorchester and Wicomico counties.
County activist and outspoken political gadfly Harry Sinclair Jr., unusually pensive, identified the essence of Boschert.
"David was always trying to help people," Sinclair said. "He always had time for them, too."
Clerk of the Circuit Court Robert P. Duckworth put it this way: "What you saw with Dave was what you got. He was a good man, and I can't say that about a lot of politicians. ... Dave was the kind of guy I look at and say, 'That is how to do the job.' "
Boschert, 63, served as a Democrat on the County Council from 1984 to 1994, and later served two terms in the General Assembly's House of Delegates as a Republican. He died June 30 after a four-month battle with liver and pancreatic cancer.
During his political career, Boschert was known for being able to work with the other party, a talent that wasn't always appreciated.
Boschert's close friend Marvin Bond, spokesman for the late Comptroller Louis Goldstein and the only public figure to speak during the funeral, told of how Boschert became upset by the torture and murder of a gay man in Wyoming. He voted in favor of hate crime legislation, and was one of only three Republicans to support the bill. That vote caused some of his friends to turn against him.
"He endured the scorn of many in his party because of it," Bond said.
Former Del. James E. Rzepkowski, a Republican from Glen Burnie whose time in the House of Delegates overlapped with Boschert's for a term, recalled Boschert's never-flagging drive and never-ending optimism. And above all, Rzepkowski said, there was that never-ending determination to win victories for the people of his district.
"One of the things I respect most about Dave was whether he lost an election or lost a fight on an issue, he was back at it the next day, working," Rzepkowski said. "Lose an election, he was back at the (political) breakfast the next day. It was always 'We'll get 'em next time.' "
On the walk to the cemetery, Gov. Ehrlich praised Boschert's legacy.
"His life had every element of American life - family, faith, country, Chamber of Commerce, County Council, House of Delegates," Ehrlich said. "And he was a good guy, to boot."
Mourners spoke of how Boschert enlisted in the Marines, served in South Vietnam, and went on to retire as a Marine Corps Reserve officer. He never stopped fighting for veterans, and one of his passions, his friends recalled, was a desire to have the now-defunct Crownsville State Hospital site include a veterans home and clinic.
"I don't think he ever missed an opportunity to march with his Vietnam vets," Bond said of Boschert's love of parades, and of his constant fight for veterans.
Boschert no doubt would have approved of the Marine Corps Color Guard that escorted his casket yesterday, and the seven sailors who fired three volleys over his grave.
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ekelly@capitalgazette.com