Bossler Family History
The Bossler family story began in the late 1800s, on opposite sides of the world. John was born in the Swabian Alps of Germany and immigrated to the US a child, later working in a Denver brewery in his teens. Florence, his wife, on the other hand was born and raised in our foothills – daughter of a rancher and sawmill operator. The family graves in Pine Gulch are surrounded by a beautiful iron fence, marked with their family brand – the Lazy D J.
John was considered one of the area’s most colorful pioneers and had a brush with the law during Prohibition with his still-brewing partner Robert McCoy. Avid Prohibition leaders were his neighbors, in fact one one is buried within eye shot of John’s grave. Florence was politically active too as a member of the Democratic party’s Mountain Jane Jefferson Club, living up to the adage “You do not have to lower yourself to become immersed in politics.”
- John Bossler was born in the Swabian Alps of Germany in 1865. His family immigrated to the US in 1870 when he was 5 years old. His father became a miner and John worked in a brewery when he was 15.
- Eventually he met Florence Ray, marrying in Denver in 1909 when she was 28 and he was 44.
- Florence had grown up in the Pleasant Park area. Her parents Jesse and Sarah Ray owned substantial acreage – 320 acres of Aspen Park, then a farm in Pleasant Park and then a sawmill in Wamblee Valley.
- Before she married John, Florence’s first marriage was to Ovid Kendall in 1902. They had 2 girls but their life together was short. He died in 1909 when the daughters were just 2 years old and 2 months old.
- John and Florence had 4 children together from 1910-1919 – also all girls. Sadly their 3rd child, Loretta, died at only 2 years old. She was the first of their family to be buried in Pine Gulch Cemetery and is the leftmost grave in the family plot.
- The family initially lived in Lamb (the area around today’s Kuehster Road). A few years later they settled in Junction, 2 miles up from Highway 73 and today’s Shadow Mountain Road. Eventually they made their home in Pine.
- During their time in Junction, John was known for furnishing horses for the rodeo held in Bradford Junction. The broncos were described as “fantails” because of their braided tales, used to keep the tail out of the way during fast-paced events like barrel racing and roping. John’s were wild enough to throw off well-known bronco buster Clyde Hocking of Morrison.
- The Bossler ranch had its own brand – the Lazy D J. It’s still active today and held by the Wills family, descendants of John & Florence’s daughter Irene and her husband Frank Wills.
- When prohibition in the U.S. took place from 1920 to 1933 John teamed up with Robert McCoy, a local rancher, to build a moonshine business. They placed their ‘business’ on the McCoy ranch, three miles beyond Shaffer’s crossing on the old Leadville trail. It had a 65 gallon still, located in a specially built house that was lined with paper and sugar sacks and hidden from the surrounding territory by a large clump of trees. Bossler constructed a lookout on top of the house, with a view of miles of the surrounding country. The property was raided on December 28, 1922 and articles say it was believed to be the highest still” in the county—at an altitude of 10,000 feet. Officials confiscated: 4 five-gallon kegs of “moonshine” whisky, 5 gallons of coal oil and the oil stove. Robert McCoy was sentenced to sixty days in the county jail. John Bossler was charged with the operation of an illicit still and the sale of liquor in violation of the prohibition law but was acquitted in the end, serving no jail time. John’s grave lies within eyeshot of William’s Crow’s – who was an avid Prohibitionist who wrote a newspaper column and helped build the party in the area.
- Florence was active in politics, a member of the Democratic party and the Mountain Jane Jefferson Club. This group was a statewide women’s organization founded in Colorado in 1902 to support the Democratic Party. It was one of the oldest Democratic organizations in the state and worked to organize women and promote Democratic candidates.
- John died in 1938 at age 73 and Florence died in 1964 at 83 years old. At the time of her death, the couple was survived by 5 of her daughters, 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grand-children. Funeral services for each were held in the Pine Community Church.
Bossler Family Tree
John Bossler (1865-1938)
Buried in Pine Gulch Cemetery
Cause of Death: Unnamed illness but after only 2 days
Florence (Ray) Kendall/Bossler (1841-1893)
Buried in Pine Gulch Cemetery
Married to Ovid Kendall in 1902
Married to John Bossler in 1909
Children (Ovid & Florence Kendall):
Marietta E Kendall (1904–2000)
Addalean V Kendall (1906–1984)
Children (John & Florence Bossler):
Leona (Bossler) Davenport (1910–1984)
Irene (Bossler) Wills (1913–2000)
Buried in Pine Gulch Cemetery
Married to Frank Wills Sr. (1909-1996)
Buried in Pine Gulch Cemetery
Son: Frank Wills Jr. (1932-1955)
Buried in Pine Gulch Cemetery
Granddaughter: Grace Lotshaw (1979-1979)
Buried in Pine Gulch Cemetery
Loretta Bossler (1916- 1918)
Buried in Pine Gulch Cemetery
Mabel (Bossler) Winthrow (1919–2003)