Slain Fort Bragg man remembered for big heart

Dennis Boardman, nicknamed “Mountain Man” by his friends, was a big man with a big heart.

The slain 67-year-old Fort Bragg man, whose body was discovered Saturday in his home, had been through tough times but had turned around his life, according to friends. He had stayed clean and sober and kept a roof over his head for at least eight years.

Because of his tough life, he had a soft spot in his heart for people who were down and out, friends said.

“He would help anyone,” said Vicky Biddle Clark.

That generous spirit may have led to his death, friends said.

“He would feel sorry for these homeless people” and invite them to stay with him, said Marissa Columbi, a longtime acquaintance whose family owns the corner store near Boardman’s home. But then he’d sometimes get upset with them, and tell them to leave. Or ask his landlord to order them out, friends said.

One person he’d invited in had threatened to kill him, said one friend, who did not wish to be named.

Fort Bragg police have yet to make an arrest or name a suspect in the killing, which they believe occurred on or about Dec. 26.

Boardman is believed to have been beaten to death, but results of an autopsy scheduled Tuesday were not yet available.

Boardman was ill - he’d recently undergone surgery for throat cancer - so some friends thought he must have died of natural causes when they first heard he was dead. They were shocked to learn he’d been the subject of a violent death.

“I’m devastated,” Columbi said. “I just can’t imagine anyone hating him like that.”

Boardman was a lifelong Fort Bragg resident, friends said. He attended Fort Bragg High School, where he played football.

After high school, he joined the military - his friends were unsure which branch - and served in Vietnam, of which he was proud, they said.

It was unclear what caused his life to unravel after that. Some friends suspect he suffered war-related post-traumatic stress disorder, but others said they’d never witnessed signs of the ailment.

But his troubled days were in the past, friends agreed.

Boardman was a happy, friendly man, content to drive up and down the coast with his constant companion, Bugsey, a large mixed-breed dog.

“They went and did things together. They would go visit people,” Columbi said.

Bugsey was taken, along with Boardman’s red pickup with hand-crafted camper, following the killing. Police do not know whether the dog was taken by accident or on purpose.

The dog and the truck were discovered in Carpenteria last week, two days before Boardman’s body was found. Santa Barbara County animal control authorities found the dog in the truck, abandoned at the beach.

Clark and a friend drove to Santa Barbara this week to retrieve Bugsey, whom they described as sweet and friendly to people but aggressive toward some other dogs. They expected to be home Tuesday night.

“Bugsey is doing OK,” Clark said. But the dog is apparently stressed and somewhat ill from drinking saltwater, she said. She’s planning to start a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his anticipated veterinary bills.

It was unclear Tuesday who would take ownership of the dog, but several people have offered to give him a home if Boardman’s daughter, who lives in Oregon, cannot keep him.

Boardman had reconnected with his daughter in recent years through correspondence, Columbi said.

“He’d be so excited” if she took Bugsey, she said. “He thought the world of his daughter.”

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter.

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