John F. Boyle
1916 - 2008

The slow, soft, gentle voice of John F. Boyle, 91, of Sterling, was silenced Friday, June 27, 2008, when he died at his home. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 1, at Chaney-Reager Funeral Home. Recitation of the Rosary and Vigil service will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Anthony Catholic Church with Deacon Ron Michieli. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 3, at St. Matthews Catholic Church in Gillette, Wyo., with burial at Mount Pisgah Cemetery in Gillette.
John was born Oct. 31, 1916, in Gillette, the son of Granville James and Mable Ruth (Allen) Boyle. He attended schools in Gillette.
It was soon noted that he was bright (but preferred the world's classroom, rather than a building), stubborn, intensely curious and interested in anything with wheels. In 1933, he served in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Tuscon, Ariz.
On Nov. 24, 1934, he married Margaret DeCourcey in Gillette. They moved from Gillette to Sterling in 1951. He was a member of St. Anthony Catholic Church in Sterling.
As a child, he had been an unwilling cowboy on his father's ranch, so he was ready for a change when he got his first car and began to tinker with it at age 11, never losing his interest in motors. In 1984, he finished the award-winning restoration of his uncle's 1939 Ford flat bed, stake-side truck, which he drove for several years in the Logan County Fair Parade.
A building contractor and carpenter by trade, John was often seen at St. Anthony School, where he built booths for the bazaars, sets for plays, homecoming floats, fire escapes, study carrels — even bleachers in the gym. Go-carts and stakeboards (an early model using a roller skate with a key as foundation) were built for his kids. His garage was home for his son Denny's band rehearsals, so he built speakers for them.
If there was a book or magazine in the room, John probably read it, and he remained current on events, with a remarkable ability to store and recall information. Recent local events he shared with his buddies at the J&L Cafe, his home away from home.
John is survived by his daughters, Roberta Pitman and husband Ken of Littleton and Barbara Lafferty of Littleton; son, Dennis Boyle and wife Mary of Pleasanton, Calif.; nieces, Virginia Carllile of Atlanta, Ga., and Georgia "Scoonie" Chabo of Gillette; 10 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Margaret Boyle in 2000; daughter, Nickie June; son, Michael John Boyle; brother, Robert Boyle; sister, Helen Percifield; and great-granddaughter, Anna Christine Rossiter.
Generosity, strength of spirit, hard work, inner kindness, dependability, deep love of family and a great and abiding faith in God were the bedrock upon which he and his wife Margaret built their lives. Though he will be sorely missed by those left behind, their joyous reunion surely shone.
Memorials may be made to St. Labre Indian School, P.O. Box 216, Ashland, MT 59003.