[Vision2020] David Boss Remembered

[J Ford]

Side Note:  Does anyone know when the memorial service at the UI is/was 
scheduled?  Was that for tonight or later in the week?




Friends of David Robert Boss remember him as an outstanding guy who made a 
lasting impression on everyone he met.

“(He) was the nicest, most honest person I have met,” said Jake Dalton, 
Boss’ friend since second grade. “He loved his friends and everyone loved 
him. He was the type of person who would go out of his way to make sure 
people got home safe.”

One of the Boise native’s nicknames was “Designated Dave” for his 
responsible partying habits and concern for others.

“He always walked me home at night, helped me with the dirty dishes and was 
always excited and willing to help out with any activity involving our 
friends,” said UI senior Jamie Wood. “He was our living guardian angel, 
always making sure we got home safe and sound. He always had a smile on his 
face and tried to make everyone around him smile too.”
Another of Boss’ female friends remembers how chivalrous he was.

“He was a true gentleman through and through,” said Jane Gordon, a former UI 
student now attending the University of Massachusetts. “I would always tell 
him that it didn’t count if he had to push me down to get to the door first 
to open it for me.”
UI graduate Doug Raymer recalled an incident during their time in the dorms, 
one of his many memories of Boss.

“Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday around three or four,” he recalled, 
“(Dave) would hear my door open, a backpack hit the floor, the mini-fridge 
open, a can of Hamm’s crack open and me groan as I sank into the couch. He 
said that was his cue to come over and hang out and watch ‘COPS.’ It’s times 
and moments like that which capture Dave for me. He always found the humor 
in something, no matter how ordinary it was. He was a best friend to many, 
including me, and he will never be forgotten.”
Even those who weren’t close to Boss have fond memories of him.

“He was nice, polite and quiet,” said Reid Wright, a UI junior who met Boss 
through a mutual friend. “It seems like he always had some girl crying on 
his shoulder telling him how hard life was. ... One night, I was in a heated 
discussion with someone and I wasn’t paying much attention to David. He 
tapped me on the arm and asked me if I wanted a cigarette. I told him I 
didn’t smoke. He pointed at my hand (and) there was a burning cigarette. 
Turns out he had already given me one, and I lit it up and started smoking 
without even thinking.”

Along with socializing and pursuing a history degree, Boss hosted a Tuesday 
afternoon show on KUOI radio station titled “Wkydtron,” which he later 
renamed “The Danger Zone.” The station’s Web site describes the program as 
“providing the necessary metal and brutality to get through each day, plus 
cheese-rock, synth-laden hits and comedy.”

During Boss’ 3:30 p.m. timeslot this week, Andy Jacobson, KUOI’s news 
director, paid tribute to him by airing his favorite music and archived 
clips of “The Jerk Store with Doug and Dizz,” a show Boss was a regular 
guest on.

“I never knew or met David, but both times I requested a sub for my show, he 
was the first one to offer and that really helped me out,” said Corey 
Pataky, KUOI deejay and UI junior. “He never hesitated to help me and that 
showed his character and how, from what I’ve read recently on him, that is 
really his true kindness and selflessness at heart.”

Radio seemed to be right up Boss’ alley. His friends remember his distinct 
taste, which Wood described as “cheesy.” His Facebook profile’s music 
section is sprinkled with selections from the decade of excess: Huey Lewis 
and The News, Van Halen (David Lee Roth era), the Beastie Boys and Motley 
Crue, among many others.

Truly an ’80s child, Boss enjoyed movies such as “Beverly Hills Cop” and 
“Tron” and named “Miami Vice,” “The A-Team” and “Macgyver” as a few of his 
favorite TV shows.
Ryan Beck, a UI senior, commented on Boss’ unique taste in his memorial note 
on Facebook titled “To Fallen Warriors.”

In it, he wrote, “I can only hope that metal heaven is like Valhalla of old. 
I hope for tall, blond, bare-chested beauties embracing you and Jackson 
guitars dueling solos eternally. It’s a darker yet ironically less metal 
place here without you.”

Boss also loved sports, especially soccer. He planned to visit South Africa 
to watch the 2010 FIFA World Cup and got a taste of the game at every 
opportunity.
“We’d get together every week to play (a soccer video game) and he’d bring a 
case of Beck’s beer,” said UI senior Matthew Doyle. “It’s so cold here in 
Moscow during the winter that was the only time we’d get to play soccer.

“What stands out most is he was a big enthusiast. He loved to talk about it, 
loved to play. Dave knew the rosters of half the international teams. I was 
always impressed. He had a wealth of knowledge about soccer.”

Boss was also a founding member of the Vandal Lacrosse Club and played for 
its first two years. Mike Band, another founder, said Boss was a “a good 
player but an even better guy.”
Friends say the murder was shocking mostly because Boss wasn’t the type to 
make enemies.
“He didn’t deserve this,” Wood said. “He meant so much to me and to so many 
others. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced.”
Despite the difficulty of grieving, Boss’ friends are doing their best to 
honor his memory.

“He’s everywhere I look: in Moscow, in Boise, in my own house,” Wood said. 
“But I know that once the grieving and pain subsides, I will look at those 
things that remind me of him, and I will remember all of the wonderful times 
that we all shared with him, how he lived his life full of passion and 
happiness and would want us to do the same.”

David Boss was found dead in his Main Street apartment after receiving two 
gunshots to the head last Saturday. The 21-year-old is survived by his 
father, Rick, and his brother, Kevin. Attempts to contact the family were 
unsuccessful.



  :]

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