Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Ed Boesen Died

One of the most well-known florists in Des Moines is dead. A family told me Ed Boesen died last night while he was on a business trip in Davenport. He declined to elaborate, other than to say Boesen had "some type of reaction" and died at a Davenport hospital.

The Boesen family operates seven floral shops in Iowa and seven other recently purchased shops in Wisconsin. Ed was also the owner of Exec One Aviation at the Ankeny Airport.

Boesen was 43 years old and leaves behind a wife and four children.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ed was a great man, a great father, a great businessman, a great philanthropist, a great friend, a great husband. Always had a smile on his face and time to talk. Beaverdale lost one of it's great sons. Sympathies go out to his mother and the rest of the Boesen family and friends. I am stunned and Ed will be sorely missed in Beaverdale and Des Moines. Too young, too good, to go so soon

Anonymous said...

I agree...what a great guy, super husband, father and friend. He never met a stranger. Always willing to give of his time and money. I am a better person for knowing him. We all need to live life for others as he did....

Anonymous said...

This world would be a much greater place if we had more people like
Ed. A role model, a kind heart and a smile we will never forget.

Anonymous said...

This world would be a much greater place if we had more people like
Ed. A role model, a kind heart and a smile we will never forget.

Anonymous said...

All previous people must have never been involved through business with Ed

Anonymous said...

Not sure how someone can be so rude and heartless when something so sad has happened. Yes, I was involved with Ed in business for many years. He never ceased to amaze me with his love for life, family and for helping others. He went above and beyond 100% of the time. My heart goes out to the family.

Anonymous said...

I worked at the Beaverdale shop for a summer and was greatly impressed with Ed. He called me by name from the first day he met me and greeted me every day by name. He was a hands-on helper in the shop and no chore was beneath him. His smile and laughter were infectious, and he was always singing a little ditty to make us laugh. I was deeply saddened to hear of his death. My thoughts go out to his family.

Anonymous said...

Eddie,
You will be missed by all.

Anonymous said...

Ed,

You are a very close and dear friend to me. I miss you more than you will ever know. Rest in peace my friend. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.
And for the JACKASS with the obnoxious comment, You must not have been that good of a friend or businessman

Anonymous said...

Ed Boesen left behind a wife, four children, at least 50 employees without a job, and one hell of a financial mess.

Anonymous said...

All but one of the people commenting on this tragic event are of the same opinion so I would say the one negative individual is not in the majority and is someone with their head in an area it should not be but probably always is.

I knew Ed personally and am proud to have called him my friend. If anything, Ed succumbed to over generosity. He wanted to do so much for so many it simply got away from him. Ed was still a young man and came into wealth very quickly. While it seems unimaginable to be overwhelmed by success, one only has to look at the people in the Wall Street arena, Hollywood and the record industry to see how easy it is. People that become wealthy quickly frequently have a difficult time handling the results. When it starts falling apart, as it often does, they can become confused and will do anything to avoid dealing with the collapse and resulting disappointment to family and friends. We see this in abundance during stock market crashes when people are hurling themselves off roof tops and out of windows and when we read about people who seeminly have it all and are dying of overdoses. Ed gave so generously to so many and in my opinion that was his undoing.

If you knew Ed, then you would know that he would never do anything to intentionally hurt his family and even in his apparent clouded state of mind, if he could have seen the affect his death would have on his wife and the girls as I did at the services I'm confident he would have found another way.

I join all of the other people here when I say, Ed, I will miss you greatly. Your kindness, sense of humor and generosity will be remembered by all whose lives you touched.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to add my voice to the majority here.... As a struggling new businessman, Ed was much more than a valued client. He did everything he could to help me succeed. I consider myself very fortunate to have had him as a friend, even if it was for far too short a time. I cannot believe he would have ever done anything to intentionally hurt anyone. My thoughts and prayers are with his beloved family.

Anonymous said...

In the eight years since I met Ed and Maureen I've probably said 50 times that they are the nicest people I've ever met. I will really miss seeing him around Beaverdale with a smile and a handshake for everybody. Those who didn't know Ed will never be able to understand what we know and what they missed.

Anonymous said...

Amen!!!

Anonymous said...

Ed bosen was my mothers boss whan he died it was tradic for our familey even if we where not the Bosen familey.I was told he was a amazing man and he was.He was the backbone of the lockers company.

Anonymous said...

The people who did not know Ed only know the story and write their opinions, which everyone has a right to have. The people who knew Ed see him as the man he was "A great guy you wanted to know".The whole money thing screws lots of people up and people's actions can be blammed on money. The thing to focus on now is hoping and praying for those left behind by Ed. Yes, it will effect my family financially, but I will not bash him because he and his family do not deserve it. The are a great family and will be in my prayers.

Anonymous said...

when I first met Ed my husband & his crew was doing a job for him in Omaha, He had the sweetest smile on his face, he could light up a room. I dont think I ever heard him say a bad thing about anyone!!! When I heard the news of him dying I thought the news was lying, I said no not Ed,
Ed gave my husband a truck as a bonus for doing such a good job on his house in Omaha, I went out & put a sticker on the back window that says In loving memory of Ed Boesen a great man!!!When Ed gave us the truck I told Ed I was going to name the truck after him, & we did our truck's name is Eddie, I will miss you Mr Ed B, my thoughts & prayers are with his family & all the 10000's hearts he touched every day!!! Missi

Anonymous said...

Ed Boesen was a bully and a jerk when in Omaha. His out of control daughter lived in a historic home he purchased, gutted and puked Menards all over before he moved her and her friends in. It was non stop part from then on. The neighbors had enough and finally got the city planned dept to shut them down. Through out the process there were threatening phone calls to members of our neighborhood association board. He threatened us with lawsuits, tried to bribe us and then resorted to threatening to buy up historic apartment buildings and filling them with Section 8 renters. None of that phased us. That is the Ed Boesen I knew and he was not a nice person. If he had a duel personality it sure would have been nice to have met him. What a sad ending for this troubled family.

Sincerely, a Midtown Omaha Resident

Anonymous said...

Just came across this page on Google. I notice none of you myopic Ed supporters have chimed in with your undying support lately.

And don't come after me as somebody who "didn't know Ed" because I knew the man very, very well. Met him in the 80s when he lived on Raymond Drive and was in touch with him as late as three weeks before he died.

And, actually I liked Ed. Nice guy in my dealings with him. But, nobody can deny that there was an Ed none of us knew and that MOFO was dark and evil and a flat out criminal.