Shawn R. Bogotty
October 25, 2012

Shawn R. Bogotty, Age 41 of Oakdale, passed away unexpectedly October 24, 2012.

Shawn is survived by his 3 beautiful children, Dylan, Charlotte and Brooklyn; their mother, Tilly Johnson; Shawn's mother, Kathy Berglof and her husband, Ed; "sister", Rose Scovill; many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Shawn was proceeded in death by his father, Raymond "Bo" Bogotty.

A Memorial Service will be held at 1:00 PM on Monday, October 29th at Roberts Family Funeral Home, 555 Centennial Dr. SW, Forest Lake, MN, with a visitation from 12:00 PM until the time of the service.

Shawn's Eulogy

At his memorial service the following eulogy was read. It was written by his mother, Kathy:

We are here today not to mourn the death, but to celebrate the life of Shawn Raymong Bogotty. Shawn is survived by his 3 beautiful children, Dylan, Charlotte and Brooklyn and their mother Tilly; Shawn's mother Kathy and her husband Ed, his "sister" Rose, many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Shawn was born in St. Paul on October 9th, 1971. The day after he was born, his dad's sister Rose moved in with the family. Shawn instantly had an older sister and his parents had 2 children: a newborn son and a 9 year old daughter. When they were growing up, Shawn and Rose had many of the usual sibling squabbles, but also many fun and loving times. Rose would spend hours reading to Shawn, teaching him colors, numbers, all the things an older sister would teach her little brother. One of Rose's not so favorite memories is when she was a teenager going on her first date and Kathy made her take Shawn along to "keep her out of mood in a non-romantic mind set." He must have done a good job as chaperone because Rose didn't get into too much boy trouble growing up.

He spent most of his growing up years living on the east side of St. Paul. He attended Hayden Heights Elementary School, Hazel Park Junior High and Johnson Senior High. He had kept in touch with many of his childhood friends throughout his life. Shawn played hockey for a couple years at Phalen Park Playground until he had problems with his knees and had to hang up his goalie stick. He kept his love for hockey throughout his life. He developed an interest in pool as a teenager and as an adult played on several teams and participated in many tournaments. He also developed his passion for music as a young man. He loved almost any kind of music, rock, country, rap, grunge, oldies and some of the new stuff. When he was in grade school he signed up for band and for a very short time he - how can I say this - "attempted" to play the French horn. When he got older he made another attempt at the guitar, but let's just say he discovered that he and everyone around him got the most enjoyment out of music by listening to it and leaving the playing of it to the professionals.

Most of his adult life, his occupation was a bartender and with his dad in the bar business, he could usually find a job. He made a lot of friends from behind the bar. He had an outgoing personality and people found him easy to talk to which made him good at his profession. A few years ago he took some classes online and he had recently applied to Century College. He was planning on getting a degree in IT and starting a new career.

But his real "career" and passion were his children. Dylan, Charlotte and Brooklyn were the reason for his existence. Tilly will tell you that the kids worshipped the ground he walked on but shat she may not tell you is he worshipped all 3 of them just as much. He had a special bond with each of them. Dylan was his only son and he always used to tell him that he was his favorite son. As their first born and only boy, Dylan had a very special place in Shawn's heart that no on ecould hold a candle to. Shawn had a special way of letting Dylan know that he was always there for him, even if he wasn't there physically, he was always there spiritually, and I hope Dylan realizes that his dad is still with him and will always watch over him. Charlotte is their second child and when she was an infant and toddler, Shawn was fortunate enough to be home during the day so he could spend more time with her and their father/child bond was as strong as it could be. She is daddy's litter girl and he is smiling down on her always. Brooklyn is the baby and was their last child and anyone who has had the pleasure of spending any time with that little bundle of joy knows how special she is and how much her daddy loved her and she him. Thankfully the kids have a warm, loving, strong mother who will help them through this difficult loss and they will grow up knowing what a very special daddy they had and how much he loved them.

As we can see by the turn out of family and friends here today, Shawn had many people who loved and cared about him. He was fortunate to have a strong core of close family and friends in his life.

Unfortunately he lost his father, Raymond "Bo", last year but his mother Kathy was a big part of his life and although they had drifted apart when Shawn was in his 20's, they had reconnected and the bond they had while he was growing up was still strong.

We can't name all the people who had a special place in Shawn's heart, but there are a few that have to be mentioned.

Tilly - words can't express what you meant to Shawn. You were the love of his life, the mother of his 3 wonderful children and even though you and Shawn were no longer together, you made sure he was able to keep the family bond with the kids. Thanks to you they know what a great daddy they had and how much he loved them.

Laura - you know what a special place you had in Shawn's heart and you will always be that to hold onto. Thank you for always being there for him.

Chad - you were a very good friend to Shawn. You gave up so much of your time the last few months to help him spend time with his kids, words can't express how important that was.

Kathy - as your mother, you had a connection that no one else had. A part of you is gone but you will live on forever in my heart and in your children, and their children will carry your life's blood into the future.

Dylan, Charlotte, and Brooklyn - you were the most important thing in your daddy's life and there aren't enough words to describe how much he loved you. He was proud of all 3 of you and remember he is always by your side.

Shawn left us suddenly and because of that we did not have time to say goodbye. I would like to ask everyone here to take a moment and remember Shawn for all the good he had in him. All the love and joy he brought to everyone who's life he touched. Look into the faces of his children and remember he lives on. A person never really dies, they only die if we forget them and Shawn will never be forgotten. He is watching over all of us here today and someday, we will see him again and no words will need to be said because he knows what is in our hearts and he knows he was loved.

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