Obituary of Frank E. Boronat

Frank E. Boronat passed away on a most auspicious Friday, September 13, 2019. It was warm and breezy and there was a full moon full of promise. How else would he go? Born April 13, 1929 in Birmingham, Alabama, to father Frank Boronat, who was born in Valencia, Spain, and mother, Martha Edwards, Frank had a glorious life and leaves quite a legacy.

Frank joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps at 17 years old and served two years in Adak, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands. After the service, he moved to Washington state, where he married and gained three step-children. He began work at Western State Hospital as an attendant while attending College of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Later he changed gears and began classes at the University of Washington, where he graduated with a B.S. in Psychology.

After graduation, Frank moved to Eugene, Oregon and began taking law classes. He didn’t graduate, however, due to working full time in order to take care of his family, all the while doing graduate work to become an attorney. After some time, Frank’s marriage dissolved and he moved to Colorado, where he would end up meeting the love of his life. But, not yet…

Frank continued his pursuit of knowledge by attending the University of Northern Colorado in Greely and graduated with a Doctorate in Education. Shortly after, Frank worked as a correctional officer at the prison in Cañon City, Colorado. Soon he befriended Carl Babberger through The Masons in Cañon City. While having dinner with the Babberger’s one evening, Enid, Carl’s clever wife, invited their lovely next-door neighbor Julie. It didn’t take long for a spark to ignite between the two of them, and two years later, on July 4, 1987, they married.

Frank and Julie moved to the Seattle area in 1988 to be closer to family, and there, Frank began working in Employee Services at DSHS, where his passion for helping others flourished. As a dedicated advocate for his fellow man, he would conduct workshops to educate workers and bosses alike on classification and pay. He was always fighting for those who didn’t have as many advantages as he did, and he regularly donated to the Salvation Army and Native American Missions. His love for life and learning was further manifested in his extraordinary “extracurricular” scholarly pursuits, including all the Great Courses on DVD.

In his spare time, Frank would study Calculus and anything math-related, Astronomy, Chinese, Shakespeare, Music of all genres (classical was a favorite), the Bible, and even the Rubik’s Cube! Coffee with lots of cream and sugar was Frank's essential beverage.  For years, he would meet with his best friend, Walt, to work on solving calculus problems. It wasn’t unusual to find him in his study amid a litter of open books, notes written in painstaking detail accompanying marked passages and dog-eared pages. Frank enjoyed reading many years with all of his male and female Book Club buddies. Frank had a brilliant, analytical mind that he crammed with knowledge and experience. And he was more than happy to share this! Anyone who knew Frank knows that he could weave a wonderful tale. He always had a perspective that could shed light with poetry. And if you were lucky enough to receive a birthday card, you would be regaled with a poem of adoration and support. He was a champion of many…

Frank was a true Renaissance Man. There is no other way to put it.

Frank is survived by his adoring wife of 32 years, Julianne (Williams) Boronat; and his six step-children who love him dearly: Kelley (Severud) Cloyd, Colleen (Severud) Van Wyk, Mark Severud, Kristen Severud, Joel Severud and Katie Severud; as well as his nine grandchildren: Ryan, Jordan, Torrey, Tyler, Keegan, Madison, Griffin, Annie and Esther.

Good night, sweet Prince. We love you forever…

All who knew him are cordially invited to a Celebration of Life on Saturday, November 2, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Lacey Senior Center, 6757 Pacific Ave. SE, Lacey, WA 98503.

Donations may be made to the Salvation Army, Union Gospel Mission, or your favorite charity.