It is with great sadness that Basketball Manitoba announces the passing of Gerry Boehm on August 12, 2023.
Gerry was well-known in the basketball community both as a player and a coach. As a young man, "The Boomer" starred for high school, junior and senior men's teams including the Isacc Newton/Sisler Spartans and the IPAC Buffaloes. His rugged play set him aside from many others. In the 1959-60 season, he led the Spartans to the MHSAA Provincial Championship where he was named the tournament MVP. That team was inducted into both the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame and the MHSAA Hall of Fame. He then went on to play for some of the first University of Winnipeg Wesmen teams. Ultimately, his bad knees led to a shorter playing career than he wanted.
Gerry taught and coached for many years at Grant Park High School and led the Pirates to many very competitive seasons and championships. During his tenure at Grant Park, Coach Boehm helped develop some players who went on to have success at the post-secondary level. Ted Fardoe and Tom King were two such examples of players from Grant Park who had very successful careers with the University of Manitoba Bisons. He also coached Mike Babb who became a very successful and respected coach himself.
He will be greatly missed by his wife, Judy, his sons, Cory (Angie) and Steven, grandchildren, Joshua (Miranda), Stephanie (Brendan), Sadie and Sevanna. Cremation has taken place with a private family interment.
The sympathies of the entire Manitoba basketball community go out to his family and friends.