NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Herbert Bossie, the city resident whose Park Boulevard home became known over the years as the New Smyrna Beach Christmas House, succumbed to heart disease Tuesday, Dec. 18, while hospitalized. He was 70.
Bossie's passing a week ago today comes at a time when the community is gearing up for holidays. Every year around this time, he dressed up as Santa Claus and opened his home to families and the wonderment of their children with spectacular decorations. including an Angel Room and an elaborate train set.
"Everyone knew the Bossies during Christmas," New Smyrna Beach Mayor Sally Mackay said. "What he did for his neighborhood and his community was spectacular. He will be missed."
Bossie came to New Smyrna Beach in 1981 after a 30-year machinist career with Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Manufacturing in Connecticut. In 1993, his home at 118 Park Blvd. was turned into a winter wonderland during that Christmas season with spectacular light-string arrangements and figurines.
It was that way every season since except for this one. That's because Herb Bossie had a massive heart attack and stroke in August and his prognosis had not good since then, said his wife, Peggy, who often took on the role of Mrs. Claus. Last month after Thanksgiving, the family held an estate sale at the home and auctioned off many of the holiday items because of tax bills.
Besides his wife of 27 years, Bossie is survived by two sons, Greg and Glen Bossie, both of Bristol, Conn.; stepson George Dubosh, Monson, Mass; a stepdaughter, Diane Raczka, Warren, Mass.; a brother, Ronald, Connecticut; a sister, Bertha Lanagan, also of Connecticut; six grandchildren and four step-grandchildren.
Bossie, a U.S. Navy veteran, was born in Laconia, N.H. on May 21, 1938. He later moved to Waterbury, Conn., where he was a member of the American Legion, Scottish Rite Masonic Lodge and Shriners of North America, Sphinx Shrine.