Bovee had a life of dedication.

Warren Bovee, who died July 2 in Milwaukee, was an especially dedicated member of NCEW. He joined the organization in 1969 and missed only two conventions in the next 30 years.

Bovee was devoted to the convention critiques, extolling them as an essential NCEW feature. Although as a journalism professor he didn't have a regular editorial page to enter in the critique sessions, he was reluctant to participate as merely an observer. His solution: He submitted unpublished opinion columns, written especially for the occasion. It wasn't unusual for him to be told by fellow critique participants that he should try harder to get his columns published.

Bovee also contributed articles to The Masthead and chaired NCEW committees during his more than three decades of involvement. Honoring his dedication, the membership voted him a life member in 1994.

A native of Montana who spent part of his childhood in Wisconsin, Bovee developed an early and sustained devotion to Marquette University, where he enrolled as a journalism student in 1940. His studies were interrupted by World War II, in which he spent two years as a pilot flying cargo over the "Hump" from Burma to China. He piloted the plane that carried some members of the American high command to witness the Japanese surrender.

He returned to Marquette and finished his undergraduate work. He went back later for an advanced degree. During his many years on the Marquette faculty, he earned a reputation for his love of democracy and for his kindness--he believed that the forceful advancement of opinion did not require personal attacks. He taught editorial writing and, at various times, was acting dean of journalism and headed the graduate program. He headed a committee in the 1960s that worked for diversity in the faculty.

Colleagues and former students remembered him as thoughtful, honest and thoroughly professional. He was 81.

He is survived by his wife, Gladys, whom he married in 1947. Other survivors include a daughter, Priscella Leschinsky; four sons, Christopher, David, John and Paul; a granddaughter; and a grandson.