A. Henry Bova, “Hank,” died on August 23, 2013. He was 77 years old and a longtime resident
of Cooksville. Hank, born in Dearborn,
Michigan, was retired after 36 years as a Professor of French at Beloit
College. His partner, Maurice Gras, born
in Draguignan, France, in 1928, was a retired Professor of French at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, and preceded Hank in death in 2003. Both were
very active in Cooksville community organizations; Maurice had been president
of the Cooksville Community Center, and Hank was a member of the Historic
Cooksville Trust Board for 8 years and then an Honorary Board member for the
past year. Both were active participants in the historic village activities.
Hank and Maurice purchased Cooksville’s historic
Longbourne-Roberson House (built c.1854) in 1968, and restored and
rehabilitated the house under the guidance of their friend and architect,
Michael Saternus. The project included a new addition to the rear and a new
garage, designed by Mike. Extensive landscaping of the property was also
undertaken
Marvin Raney, local historian and antiquarian, wrote a
history of the Longbourne-Robertson House up to 1968 as a gift for Hank and
Maurice, and Hank wrote a continuation of the story in 2004, both of which are
in the Cooksville Archives.
Hank’s story relates that he and Maurice had been searching
for a rural residence halfway between Madison and Beloit and happened upon
Cooksville, where, thanks to Marvin Raney, they discovered the
Longbourne-Robertson House, then owned by Miles and Beth Armstrong, was for
sale. The two were not impressed. As Hank wrote, “It did not appeal at first.”
Hank’s story continued: “After meeting with Michael Saternus,
another friend of Marvin and a budding architect who convinced us that this was
a beautiful house, full of promise, we contacted the owner, Miles Armstrong. We
made a ridiculously low offer. To our considerable surprise, he accepted. Mike
Saternus advised us to buy as much land as we could afford with the house and
we did…. We moved in in March 1968…. We promised Mike Saternus to restore the
front elevation of the house as closely as possible to the original….The new
addition was completed in about November, 1974….The photographic portraits
which hang in the stairwell are of Paul Savage and his sister, Avis. Paul… was
a colorful personage. He became a folk hero in this house where legend has it
that his ghost lingers.”
Hank and Maurice both became “legends” of their own, for
accomplishments in their own time— in the restoration of their house, in their extensive
gardens, in their beloved village’s activities, and in the gracious,
fun-loving and productive lives they
lived—and for the wonderful, legendary meals that were cooked in their “French
House.”
{Remembered by their
friend, Larry Reed, who learned a lot about cooking, partying, and enjoying
Cooksville from Hank and Maurice.]
