He married Donna Lear in March 1962 and the couple settled on a farm near Midway, Mo., where they lived until he was offered a position at Community Tire Co. in St. Louis. Eight years later they moved to the Ozark Mountains near Potosi, Mo., where Bozarth joined Purcell Tire & Rubber Co. as retread plant manager and vice president of production and worked there for the next 18 years.
He was hired in 1988 by the ARA as technical director and three years later was named the association's managing director. When the ARA changed its name to ITRA in 1996, Bozarth continued to lead the organization as executive director serving until 2002.
During his tenure at ARA/ITRA, the association built a headquarters and training center in Louisville, Ky., and greatly expanded and improved its retread and tire repair training programs. During this time, Bozarth also served as editor of The Tire Repair & Retread Journal and co-authored the book "Tire Essentials."
He later founded Tire Analysis Inc., a consultancy, and served as an expert witness in civil court cases involving tires and retreading for many years. In 2002 he agreed to become TIA's senior technical consultant. He retired from that position in 2018.
He was inducted into the Retreaders Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Tire Industry Hall of Fame in 2003. More recently, he was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Tire Retreading Sector by Valebridge Media Services in the United Kingdom, publisher of Retreading Business and Tyre & Rubber Recycling magazines.
Bozarth enjoyed quail hunting and spending time with his family. He was active in the Baptist church, where he served as a deacon. He was well read and very well-traveled. He was a light in the life of anyone who knew him, and he will be missed very much, his family said.
Bozarth is survived by his wife Donna, children Tina, Ed and Scott, grandson Mitchell, and nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by brothers Clyde, James, JE and Robert, and sisters, Madge Tawney, Blanche Jacobs, Jane West, Esther Hatton and Dolly Kiplinger.
A visitation will be held on Sept. 13 at the Bible Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo., at 1 p.m., followed at 2 p.m. by a short memorial service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Missouri Veterans Home in Mexico or to the Alzheimer's Association.
Remembrances can be posted and/or viewed at H.T. May & Sons Funeral Homes website.
