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Donald Boehmer Passes Away on December 29, 2007

Donald John Boehmer

August 14, 1941 – December 29, 2007

Long time Chicago Chapter member and SFPE Fellow, Donald John Boehmer, 66, of Sugar Grove, IL and Fort Meyers, FL; passed away December 29, 2007, after succumbing to ALS.  He was a retired PE and PEng. 

Don received a degree in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1963.  Don’s career spanned over 43 years, including service in the US Navy as a Damage Control Officer and courier and work at the Illinois Inspection and Rating Bureau.  

Following the Bureau, he joined Rolf Jensen & Associates.  Don was responsible for establishing the first Fire Protection Consulting Engineering  practice in Canada, Rolf Jensen & Associates, Ltd..  He had retired from Schirmer Engineering Corporation, after being  President of his own Fire Protection Consulting practice, Performance Technology Consulting, Ltd. in Lake Bluff, Illinois. 

He was a past president of the SFPE Southern Ontario Chapter, a former member of the World Building Officials Association and of The Society of Fire Safety Engineers (U.K.).  He was a former member of the Associate Committee of the National Building Code and chaired its standing committee on occupancy for the 1990 National Building Code of Canada. He was a member of the National Fire Protection Association.  Don was a Past President of the Lake County Chapter of the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers.

Throughout his career, Don was concerned with technology transfer and educating young engineers.  He transferred his concern into action by being a frequent contributor to the Chicago Chapter’s PE exam question sessions and serving the Lake County Chapter of ISPE as a Scholarship Chairman. During his career, he provided services on many notable projects including the Toronto Eaton Centre, Canary Wharf in London and Petronas Towers in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia.

(Submitted by William Webb, January 4, 2008)