A stalwart of Sandton and its emergency rescue services for 30 years, Dr John Boden (MBBCh 1965) died in Sandton Mediclinic on 29 February 2012. He was 72. Born on 21 September 1940, Boden matriculated from St John’s College. At Wits Medical School, he was one of the students enlisted to help the wounded after the 1963 John Harris anti-apartheid bombing at Johannesburg Park Station. After graduating, Boden became head of Casualty at Johannesburg General Hospital. He began practising privately in Cramerview and later Bryanston shopping centres from 1969. He moved his practice to the new Sandton Clinic in 1975, where he participated in the first surgery performed there. Boden lobbied for greater co-operation between Sandton medical personnel and emergency medical services, and pioneered the training of paramedics. He served in violence-stricken Johannesburg townships during the tumultuous 1980s, and designed and implemented a pioneering mobile clinic. Arguably Boden’s greatest contribution was his role in developing and training the Sandton Emergency Services Volunteer Services, a corps that grew into the largest in Africa and in which Boden served as Chief Medical Officer. Boden was named the Sandton Citizen of the Year in 1987 in recognition of his contribution to ambulance, paramedic and emergency services. He retired from general practice in 1998 but continued to serve as ad hoc Medical Officer for ER24 until his passing. His brothers, Roger (BArch 1966, DipTRP 1973, MUD 1979) and Robert, and three sons - one of whom is a Wits alumnus - survive him.
Jack Hoffmann
From:
https://www.wits.ac.za/alumni/obituaries/obituary-content-by-year/#d.en.1762376
Boden, John Charles (1940-2012)
A stalwart of Sandton and its emergency rescue services for 30 years, Dr John Boden (MBBCh 1965) died in Sandton Mediclinic on 29 February 2012. He was 72. Born on 21 September 1940, Boden matriculated from St John’s College. At Wits Medical School, he was one of the students enlisted to help the wounded after the 1963 John Harris anti-apartheid bombing at Johannesburg Park Station. After graduating, Boden became head of Casualty at Johannesburg General Hospital. He began practising privately in Cramerview and later Bryanston shopping centres from 1969. He moved his practice to the new Sandton Clinic in 1975, where he participated in the first surgery performed there. Boden lobbied for greater co-operation between Sandton medical personnel and emergency medical services, and pioneered the training of paramedics. He served in violence-stricken Johannesburg townships during the tumultuous 1980s, and designed and implemented a pioneering mobile clinic. Arguably Boden’s greatest contribution was his role in developing and training the Sandton Emergency Services Volunteer Services, a corps that grew into the largest in Africa and in which Boden served as Chief Medical Officer. Boden was named the Sandton Citizen of the Year in 1987 in recognition of his contribution to ambulance, paramedic and emergency services. He retired from general practice in 1998 but continued to serve as ad hoc Medical Officer for ER24 until his passing. His brothers, Roger (BArch 1966, DipTRP 1973, MUD 1979) and Robert, and three sons - one of whom is a Wits alumnus - survive him.