Stephen Paul Bos; Conejo Valley Army Veteran

Stephen Paul Bos, an Army veteran and longtime Conejo Valley resident, died Tuesday following a lengthy illness. He was 34.

Bos was born May 16, 1964, in San Gabriel. In 1967, Bos moved with his parents to Westlake Village, where he attended White Oak Elementary School and Lake Lindero Middle School. He graduated from Agoura High School in 1983.

Bos studied political science at UC Santa Barbara and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1987. He served in the intelligence division of the U.S. Army between 1987 and 1991, his family said.

Bos was trained as a linguist in German at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, and the Language Training Center in Munich, Germany. Bos was stationed in Frankfurt when the Berlin Wall came down.

Bos served during Operation Desert Storm and first became ill in 1991 while serving in the Persian Gulf, his family said.

Following his stint in the service, Bos earned a teaching credential from Cal Lutheran University in 1994. He studied history, particularly the events surrounding World War II, and he enjoyed music, writing, traveling and gardening, his family said.

Bos was an avid athlete who enjoyed track, kayaking, biking, parachuting, soccer, hiking, hang gliding and ultra-light planes.

Bos’ father, Rev. Robert C. Bos, described his son as a man of great courage, high standards and noble achievements who lived an exemplary life.

He was loved and admired and will be greatly missed, said his father, the retired pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Westlake Village.

Bos was a member of VFW Post 7799 and the Westminster Presbyterian.

He is survived by his parents, Robert and Carole M. Bos of Westlake Village; a sister, Karen Attema of Santa Cruz; a grandmother, Alice M. Hoffs of Kalamazoo, Mich.; and a niece and a nephew.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Westlake Village. Burial will be private.

Memorial contributions can be made to Hospice of the Conejo in Thousand Oaks; Heal the Bay in Santa Monica; or the Robert Bos Scholarship Fund for pastoral ministry or the Carole Hoffs Bos Scholarship Fund for teachers, both at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Westlake Village.