Del. K. Bennett Bozman, 69; Served Eastern Shore

By Allan Lengel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 28, 2006; B06

Maryland Del. K. Bennett Bozman, an affable Democrat from the Eastern Shore who fought to protect the coastal bays and served as the House's deputy majority whip, died April 27 after a cardiac arrest, just days before his 70th birthday.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said that Del. Bozman, of Worcester County, had developed bacterial meningitis while hospitalized on the Eastern Shore and was being taken by ambulance to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore midafternoon when he died.

Del. Bozman's death caught colleagues and friends off guard and brought an outpouring of kind words from both sides of the political aisle.

"I was deeply saddened to hear about Bennett's untimely passing, and I am sure that sentiment is shared by the many citizens whose lives he touched during his decades of public service to citizens of Wicomico and Worcester counties," Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele (R) said. "He was truly an Eastern Shore gentleman."

Born May 8, 1936, in Norfolk, Del. Bozman attended Washington High School in Princess Anne, Md., and received a degree from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in 1961.

He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1961 until 1969 and went on to become a pharmacist and county commissioner on the Eastern Shore, colleagues said.

Del. Bozeman became a member of Maryland's House in 1991. Over the years, he served on panels including the Ways and Means Committee and the Special Joint Committee on Competitive Taxation and Economic Development.

"Bennett truly was a very modest and very kind human being," said Del. Elizabeth Bobo (D-Howard). "He wasn't the kind of delegate who hopped on the floor just to [talk]. He only got up when he had something to say."

Busch expressed similar sentiments. "Everybody loved Bennett Bozman," he said. "He was a natural with people. He always had something positive to say."

In 2000, despite long odds, Del. Bozman took a shot at unseating Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest, a popular moderate Republican who had far more financing.

Del. Bozman's party offered little material help, figuring the money could be better spent on a candidate with better odds. Still, that didn't stop him from chalking up 25,000 miles on his wife's car and traveling both shores of the Chesapeake. He lost by a considerable margin.

Survivors include his wife, two children and three grandchildren.

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