Sir Donald Bocast, Kgchs

Donald Rocco Bocast, aged 95, died at Parkmoor Village Healthcare Center on Thursday, August 13, 2020, from complications of vascular dementia.

Don was born April 12, 1925 in Hollywood, California. In 1941, he left high school in Chico, California, where the family had moved in 1928, three months early to volunteer for the Navy Signal Corps. Having already begun to dabble in amateur radio, Don was trained for military communications and sent to China in 1945. He finished his undergraduate study at UC-Berkeley while still in the Navy, getting elected to the Tau Beta Pi honors society in 1945, and left active duty with an ensign commission in 1946. He went to work for General Electric’s Creative Engineering Program, and in 1948, while on a 3-month stint for GE in Cleveland, Ohio, he met Loretta Karchner. They married in Fremont, Ohio, on July 2, 1949 – a union that would last 71 years; the couple eventually settled in the Los Angeles area in 1954. While in California, they had three children, and Don earned a Master of Science degree in Engineering at UCLA in 1960.

Don was a life-long electronics inventor/entrepreneur and started several companies in his time, most notably Loyola Industries, based in southern California, and later, Vetko and Carsan Engineering, based in Colorado. The family moved to Colorado Springs in 1974, and Don maintained residence in Colorado until his death. He remained an amateur radio enthusiast (W6TMT) and spent many hours piloting light aircraft and gliders for recreation. Later in life, he enjoyed participating in local music theater and playing the piano. He was also an active member of Serra International, the Knights of Columbus, and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Survivors include his wife Loretta H. Bocast, and daughter Chrystal S. Bocast, both of Colorado Springs; daughter Audrey A. Baum, of Buda, Texas; and son Alexander K. Bocast, of Anacortes, Washington. Don was preceded in death by his brothers James Bocast and Bill Bocast.

A memorial rosary was held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on Monday, August 24, and a funeral mass was celebrated at St. Joseph’s on Tuesday, August 25. The interment will be on Monday, August 31, at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Colorado Springs. Sadly, due to current restrictions on large gatherings, attendance at all events is by invitation only.