John Boughen

from The Northumberland News  Friday July 4, 2013
PORT HOPE MOURNS PASSING OF JOHN BOUGHEN
by Paul J Rellinger
PORT HOPE — John Boughen, the 'Father of Hope Township,' has died.
Mr Boughen, a farmer and staunch supporter of agriculture in Port Hope's Ward 2, died on June 27 at Northumberland Hills Hospital after a lengthy illness. He was 71.
Mayor Linda Thompson made the announcement during a July 2 council meeting, which was followed by a moment of silence for the longtime resident, who Mayor Thompson said, "made countless contributions to the community."
"Anyone who dealt with John remembered the sage advice he could give you for a long, long time," Mayor Thompson said. "He truly made a difference in the community, and he will be missed."
Always looking to better the community around him, Mayor Thompson said, Mr Boughen was "very active" in the community.
He formed the former Hope Township Ratepayers Association, and served on the Port Hope Agricultural Advisory Committee and spent many years serving the Ontario Federation of Agriculture through the Northumberland Federation of Agriculture, where he was a past president and represented his municipality as a director. "He raised funds to go to an OMB hearing to protect agricultural land and he worked on every official plan after that. He worked on the committee for the amalgamated official plan and he was very intent in everything he did," Mayor Thompson said. "He did his homework and provided many details." In 2012, Mr Boughen's farm was the site for Northumberland Plowing Match and he helped preserve the 'Golden Plough' and 'Cairn of Peace' at the Northumberland County Building in Cobourg.
Mr Boughen was also Port Hope's first recipient of a Civic Award for agriculture and he will be honoured posthumously on the Quinte Agricultural Wall of Fame at the Stirling Agricultural Museum.
He is survived by his wife Meredith and daughter Mary, brothers Don and Dwayne.
At the end of Port Hope's council meeting, Sanford Haskill inquired whether the municipality had any plans to name anything after Mr Boughen to commemorate his agriculture and community contributions. "That's a good idea," Mayor Thompson said.