Norman Boskind, 59, police officer

Norman Wayne Boskind, chairman of the Harford County Commission on Veterans Affairs and a retired Maryland Transportation Authority Police officer, was killed in a motorcycle accident on Independence Day on Route 213 near Chesapeake City. He was 59.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Mr. Boskind graduated from Edmondson High School in 1962. He enlisted in the Army in 1964 and served in Vietnam for two years with a transportation company. He was honorably discharged in 1967 with the rank of specialist.

Mr. Boskind, a Bel Air resident, joined the Maryland Transportation Authority Police in 1971 and was promoted to corporal and patrol supervisor in 1977. He later had posts commanding the investigation division and as commander of the Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels.

From 1998 until retiring last year, Mr. Boskind was a major in command of the police department's operations and technical services bureaus.

He received many awards during his 31-year career and was a 1993 graduate of Northwestern University's Traffic Institute.

Throughout his life, Mr. Boskind never forgot his fellow servicemen in the Vietnam conflict.

He was active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and with the Harford County Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America. He also was a longtime volunteer at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Perry Point, and since 1994 had spent Christmas Day visiting and delivering gifts to patients.

"The veterans would just glow when he came to visit," said his companion of 10 years, Sadie Hose.

On Mondays, he volunteered to drive veterans to medical appointments or on errands.

In his work with his local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Mr. Boskind played a pivotal role in getting Route 24 in Harford County designated Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway.

With an outgoing personality, Mr. Boskind was a well-liked and respected figure in Harford County.

He was appointed in 1999 to the Harford County Commission on Veterans Affairs by County Executive James M. Harkins and was named its chairman last year.

Merrie Street, director of government and community relations for Harford County, recalled his enthusiasm for the job.

"He was a worker bee. He didn't get on a committee to sit on a committee. He got on a committee to make a difference. He dove in and ran with its work," Ms. Street said. "He loved working on veterans issues. He was always there. One of his current projects was sending out letters to the various veterans groups in the county. He was trying to get them to work together rather than separately and have one loud voice."

During his tenure with the commission, Mr. Boskind helped organize National Prisoners of War-Missing in Action Remembrance Day on Sept. 23, 2001, at the William A. Humbert Amphitheater in Bel Air. The ceremony -- which also honored those who were injured or killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- was repeated last year at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen.

"Norm was so patriotic, there was a glow in his eyes that day," said Cpl. Greg Prioleau, a longtime friend and transportation authority police spokesman.

"He was devoted to projects that promoted and fostered patriotism," said Mr. Harkins. "That's really what I think he'll be remembered for. He sort of made that his passion."

In April, Mr. Boskind was the driving force that got the "Moving Wall," a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, to make a stop at Harford Community College.

"He always wore his uniform when he attended Memorial Day events and was the kind of man who was able to instill in people a love for their country," said County Councilwoman Veronica L. Chenowith of Fallston.

Mr. Boskind enjoyed playing golf so much that it wasn't unusual to see him playing in the rain. He also liked riding his red and chrome Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle -- the bike he was riding at the time of his death.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. July 19 at the Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home, 6500 York Road in Rodgers Forge.

Survivors include two sons, Brian W. Boskind of Towson and Sean S. Boskind of Parkville; a daughter, Rachel J. Noto of Towson; two sisters, Paulette Boswell of Columbia and Mary Hoffman of Catonsville; and a niece and nephew. His marriage to the former Pamela Jean Domarecki ended in divorce.

Sun staff writer Lane Harvey Brown contributed to this article.