Peter P. Bouroff's Obituary
BOUROFF – Peter P., Ph.D., 93, of Milton, DE, formerly of Severna Park, MD, retired chemical engineer, died peacefully on April 11, 2010, at his home. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Elizabeth [nee Lemken] Bouroff; daughter Kita [nee Bouroff] de Sesa, her husband Gary de Sesa, Ph.D., their son Gary Bouroff de Sesa of New York; daughter Nina Bouroff, her son, Christopher M. Bouroff Plews of Maryland; his sister Nina [nee Bouroff] Soukhanov of Maryland; nieces and nephews, and friends world wide. He was preceded in death by his father, a general in the Imperial Russian Army, Peter N. Bouroff, [b. Kostroma, Russia, 1872, d. Baltimore, MD., 1954]; his mother, a writer and artist Nina [nee Kotloff] Bouroff, Ph.D., [b. Vilno, Russia, 1894, d. Chevy Chase, MD., 1998]. He was born October 1, 1916, in Teri-Joki, Finland. He was a descendant of Ivan Sousanin [d. 1613], legendary Russian hero, who saved the life of future Tsar Michael I, of the Romanov dynasty. Peter led a life of hard work, travel and adventure, beginning with an equine escape from Russia in 1923 to Poland. His family moved to France in 1925. He earned his first degree in 1939, as a chemical engineer from the Institute Chimique in Rouen, in Paris. He served as a First Lieutenant in the French Army 1939-1940. Though taken prisoner by the Germans, he managed to escape back to Paris. Through fortune and wit, he found work that kept him in Paris through the German occupation and Allied liberation. Active in the Resistance, he delivered information critical to the Allied war effort. More so, his active work to save hundreds of Jews from the Nazi’s during those years has been acknowledged by the Baltimore Jewish Council, who named him a Christian Rescuer or “Righteous Gentile”. His taped interviews are part of the Holocaust Museum Exhibit. He attended the Sorbonne, earning an MS in 1942, and a doctorate in engineering and chemistry in 1944. Once Paris was liberated, he served as a liaison between the Free French and Allied armies before establishing his first business in electroplating. For family reasons, and with no English language, he emigrated to the U.S, in 1949, beginning work as an assistant professor at Columbia University’s School of Engineering. He also served as an attaché for the Franco-American Cultural relations. He soon took a position with the Austenal Lab in New York City, then to American Alcolac, Inc. in Baltimore. He became a naturalized citizen in 1955. Other employment included E.F. Drew & Co. and Millmaster-Onyx Co. of N.J., board of directors of Wapora, and Alcolac, Inc. of MD, where he retired as vice president of Technology and Board of Director member. Throughout his career he designed, erected and started new plants, in the U.S. and overseas, invented and improved a myriad of products, managed R&D and participated in each companies marketing and customer service. After retirement from Alcolac in 1988, he ran his own consulting service until age 82, and then was a volunteer at the University of Delaware in the Marine Biology department. He served as a consultant to the French Academy of Sciences and held membership in the New York Academy of Sciences and other chemical societies in the U.S. He was fluent in Russian and French. He was a member of a number of fraternal organizations over the years including Mountain Lakes Lodge 258, Royal Arch Madison Chapter #27, the Knights Templars and Salaam Temple, all of New Jersey; the French War Veterans Association and community organizations in Maryland. He loved fishing, hunting, boating, gardening, animals and the arts, and a passion for photography. He was a life-long communicant of the Russian Eastern Orthodox Church.
A memorial service will be held Sunday, April 18 at 3:30 PM, at Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Hwy, Lewes, DE where friends may call beginning at 2:30 PM.
In lieu of flowers the family suggest memorial contributions be made to Disabled American Veterans, 183 South Street, Camden Wyoming, DE 19934 or to the Delaware Humane Association, 701 A Street, Wilmington, DE 19801.
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