Eloise Boynton ’41 Bosch

Eloise Boynton ’41 Bosch, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother passed away on Friday, October 7, 2016 after a brief illness.

She was a friend to so many and lived her retirement years in her beloved Oman with her late husband, Dr Donald Bosch. She spent her working life in Oman as a teacher at the Mission School in Muscat, the Al Amana School, teaching in both Arabic and English.

Eloise was born in Mohawk, New York on August 4, 1919 and was the oldest of 4 children. She grew up in New York City and attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan. She graduated with a BA as a teacher. She was fortunate to become very close friends with her future sister-in-law who insisted that she had a wonderful brother that Eloise must meet. They ended up married for 70 happy, adventurous, loving years. During World War II, while Donald was in the US Army in Europe, Eloise graduated from Union Theological Seminary in New York City with a master’s degree in religious education.

Eloise and Don arrived in Muscat, Oman in January 1955 on a British India Steam Navigation Company ship with their three small children, David, Paul and Bonnie. They came to the Middle-East as missionaries under the Reformed Church of America and had spent three years in Amara, Iraq studying Arabic. They would continue their mission work until their retirement with Donald working as a doctor and Eloise as a teacher.

Upon their retirement in 1983, the Bosches were awarded Omani nationality and provided with a home in Haramel, in recognition of their many years of service to the people of Oman.

This was a happy time for Eloise and Donald as they would spend half the year in the United States with family and friends and the other half in their much loved Oman.

Eloise was a gifted teacher and loved the children she taught. She once said that she was “humbled to have played a small part in the lives of these children, as some have become bankers, principals in girls’ schools, some are now in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Services. Yet others have become artists and arrange art exhibits. Some boys and girls have been trained to be nurses and medical assistants. Yet others have served in the army and navy. Some married ambassadors and served in other countries and some became involved in local charities.” She felt enormous pride in her students and remained lifelong friends with many of them.

The Bosches became collectors of seashells as a result of the family’s weekend visits to the local beaches, where they noticed the many shells on the shore. This began their love affair with the world of conchology. Donald would be recognised as an expert on seashells of the Arabian Gulf and Eloise would be his helpmate and partner.

Over the years the Bosches wrote books on seashells including Seashells of Oman, Seashells of Southern Arabia, and Seashells of Eastern Arabia . And in 2000, Eloise and Donald co-authored a book about their early lives in Oman, The Doctor and the Teacher, Oman 1955-1970 .

Donald and Eloise, often with the help of their children and grandchildren, discovered over 20 new species of seashells in Omani waters. One of the most beautiful shells was named Punctada eloisae after Eloise.

Eloise and Donald had many friends in Oman and enjoyed opportunities to share their home, not only with their Omani friends, but with friends from all over the world. They enjoyed square dancing, shelling, and traveling. Eloise loved to sew and read and passed these hobbies down to her children and grandchildren. Her home was always open to her neighbours and she was always welcome in the neighbourhood homes. It was not unusual to walk down a street and hear her friends calling out to her “karabee, karabee” and she would always reply “kareeb”. Eloiselived a life of service to others and always treated others with kindness and respect. She had a strong faith in God and this sustained her all her life. She was a deeply loved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her death is a grievous loss to her family.

Eloise died peacefully surrounded by all her children.

Eloise is survived by her three children, David Bosch (Leslie), Paul Bosch (Cecelia), Bonnie Bosch. She is also survived by five grandchildren: Hrand Apcar, Donna Apcar, Emily Arikat (Saoud), Aniesa Brassil (Eric), Jonathan Bosch (Katmerka) and six great-grandchildren: Robert Morales, Ryan Morales, Samih Arikat, Alya Arikat, Yasmine Bosch and Selena Bosch. Eloise is survived by her sister, Nancy Boynton ’42 Prindle and a loving, extended family.

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