James Albert “Bo” Rader, Jr. was born August 16, 1942 in Marion, North Carolina to James Albert Rader, Sr. and Connie Lane Rader.  Bo died July 26, 2024 in Houston, Texas.

Bo graduated from Marion High School in 1960 where he served as Class President and voted Most Popular.  He then attended Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina graduating in 1964 with a B.S. in Marketing.  While at Western Carolina University Bo was an active member of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity.

Bo met his wife, Patricia Ann Wiseman in Marion during their  junior high school years.  During the summer of 1961 the couple married and remained together for 63 years until his death.  

In 1964 Bo began a long career in retail marketing for the Gulf Oil Corporation that took his family to many cities including Richmond, Virginia, Atlanta, Georgia, and Houston, Texas.  Bo retired early from Gulf Oil when the company  merged with Standard Oil of California to form Chevron.  In 1990, Bo began working  for Southland Corporation in Dallas, Texas where he completed several projects.  Upon project completions, Bo and Pat moved back to North Carolina where he worked from several oil companies around the state and sold real estate.  In 2006, Bo and Pat returned to Houston, and he began working for Landmark Industries, Timewise until 2020. 

Bo proudly mentored many individuals during his careers.  He enjoyed playing golf, loved to dance, watch his black and white westerns, and was known to be the life of a party.

Bo is survived by  his wife, Pat, daughter Amy Hirtz and husband Henry of Brenham, sister Beth R. Buchanan of Marion, NC, sister-in-law Shelby Greene of Marion, NC, and numerous nieces and nephew.

The family thanks the nurses and caretakers at Brookdale Champions along with St. Joseph Hospice for their  great care of Bo during his end of life struggle with dementia.

A funeral service will be held at John Wesley Methodist Church, 5830 Bermuda Dunes Drive, Houston, Texas, 77069, on Thursday, August 8, 2024, at 2:00 pm.  A reception will immediately follow in the Welcome Hall.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to be made to The Shriners Children’s Hospital-Texas, Office of Philanthropy Suite 523, 815 Market Street, Galveston, Texas 77550.