Bradford Kay Bochow

Bradford Kay Bochow

Nov. 24, 1936 - Dec. 15, 2015

TRENTON, Neb. -- Kay Bochow died Dec. 15, 2015, at the age of 79.

He was born on Nov. 24, 1936, at a ranch/farm south of Sylvan Grove, Kansas, the only child of Ernest and Delila (Holman) Bochow. Brad grew up on the farm and graduated from Sylvan Grove High School before enlisting in the Army during the Korean War. After the war ended, Brad was a pitcher for an Army baseball team that won two 4th Army Championships.

After serving four years, he attended Kansas State University on a baseball scholarship, lettering and graduating with two degrees. He was then accepted into graduate school at the University of Iowa, where he completed his master's degree and doctoral studies in 1963 with a 4.0 GPA.

Upon graduation, Brad joined the Federal Bureau of Prisons as a parole officer, working at the Federal Penitentiary at Terra Haute, Indiana. He left corrections to move to Colorado, where he entered the Life Insurance Industry and worked for 10 years for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance as an executive trainer and agent, winning all national honors.

He then became a general agent for Mutual Benefit Life Insurance, where he was associated for six years, before retiring in 1984 at the age of 48. After 30-plus years in Fort Collins, Colorado, Brad moved to Trenton, Nebraska, in 2004 to live "among the kind of people I grew up with, the ranchers/farmers in a small town like Sylvan Grove was many years ago."

His hobby, among many, was cutting, splitting and burning wood, hence the nicknames "Woody" and "Woodchopper." He sadly leaves behind no relatives, save his beloved Pomeranians.

A celebration of life will be at the Double Eagle Saloon in the North Shore Café, Hwy. 34 (Bass Rd.), Trenton, Nebraska, on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, from 6 to 8 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations would be gratefully accepted by the McCook, Nebraska, Humane Society.

Herrmann-Jones Funeral Chapel in McCook is in charge of arrangements.