Boris Romanowsky
May 25, 1958 – August 25, 2023
Boris Romanowsky passed away on August 25, 2023, at age 65. There are no words that can fully and adequately describe him – he was truly one of a kind. He lived his life fully and on his own terms, up until the very end.
One of his top priorities in life was his physical fitness. He was known for his wild and unconventional adventures, and those who knew him knew that his idea of an “easy hike” was very different from most. He lived by the “KISS” method and believed that all you needed for a good adventure were tennis shoes, a t-shirt, and a bathing suit.
Boris grew up in the San Fernando Valley and graduated from Reseda High School in 1975. He started his career in law enforcement in 1984 as a Correctional Officer at the men’s prison in San Luis Obispo. He was soon promoted to correctional sergeant and transferred to RJ Donovan State Prison. In 1990, he became a parole officer, a job he held until he retired in 2013. He was never short on war stories from his years of working at the parole offices in Oxnard and Santa Barbara.
After retirement, he spent a year in Tahoe where he worked on writing and self-publishing his book, “Playtime is Over,” based on his experiences as a parole officer. He attempted a run for governor in 2018 and at the time of his death was converting his book into a screenplay.
Boris would never sit still. If a friend or family member were in need, he would drop everything to make a “Bonzi Trip” and go wherever he was needed. In the last four years, he clocked in over 250,000 miles on his car doing just that.
After he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2020 (a recurrence from a bout in 2005) he never slowed down. He continued to exercise daily and would send pictures of himself bench pressing while wearing his chemo pump. His trusty clipboard with his yellow pad of stats was always nearby.
In 2022, after living in California for his whole life, he bought a property in Blaine. On July 4, 2023, he accomplished his dream of hosting his whole family at his house, dubbed “Basecamp Blaine”.
His greatest joy in life was raising his daughters and he would share their accomplishments with anybody who would listen –often to the point of embarrassing them!
He is predeceased by his parents and six of his ten siblings. He is survived by his daughters, Sasha and Launa, their spouses, three grandchildren, four siblings, dozens of nieces and nephews, and innumerable friends.
In lieu of flowers, please spend an afternoon in nature on an “easy hike” and help a friend in need.
Funeral services were held on Friday, September 1, 2023.
