Obituary: John W. Boyhan, Former Bell Labs Engineer and Holmdel Resident

John W. Boyhan, 85, of Fort Myers, Florida, passed away on August 31, 2012.  John was born in New York City and spent most of his life in Holmdel, New Jersey.  Mr. Boyhan was held a B.E.E. in Electrical Engineering from New York University and a Masters in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri at Rolla.

John spent much of his life as a telecommunications engineer with various AT&T Companies, most specifically, Bell Laboratories (Lucent Technologies).  Mr. Boyhan retired at 75, while with Loral Skynet, after exciting adventures of a “Rocket Scientist,” living in Iceland; Tehran, Iran; Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and Japan.  John’s major contributions include the aiding in the design of the voice communications for Air Force One and the White House, the Early Warning System and the Telstar Satellite series. Mr. Boyhan was also a member of Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu and a Senior Life Member of IEEE. He was also honored as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff while at Bell Laboratories, an accolade only preferred on 4% of the staff. Mr. Boyhan was also a published author of several articles in IEEE. 

Mr. Boyhan also served as a sergeant in the United States Army Armored Division during World War II (1945-1948) and was stationed in Allied Occupied Germany.

John was an avid private pilot, professional skier as well as a golfer.  He was predeceased by his loving wife of 42 years, Jane Feeney Boyhan, in 2002.  He is survived by his children, Christina M. Boyhan, of Fort Myers, Florida, and Mark T. Boyhan of Wellington, Florida.  He is the much adored uncle to nieces and nephews in New Jersey, New York, England, Greece and Dubai.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in John’s name to the New York Langone Medical Center, Center of Excellence on Brain Aging, 145 East 32nd Street, New York, New York, 10016 (http://development.med.nyu.edu/).

A memorial is planned for this Sunday, October 21, 2012.  For details please contact Ms. Boyhan at cboyhan@comcast.net.