Gerald "Gerry" Boyle was born on May 14, 1934, in Carfin, Lanarkshire, Scotland, to Mary and Daniel Boyle. He died peacefully at home on August 1, 2020, due to complications from a stroke. He was the seventh of nine children. A tenth child, Clare Bernadette died at birth.
He lived in Scotland, except for two years serving in the British army in Malaya, until emigrating to New Jersey in 1960. During World War II, he spent a brief time in Newcastle in Northern Ireland with his grandparents and uncles and cousins. During his youth, he and his brothers biked and camped around Scotland, England, and Ireland.
Gerry became a master painter, paperhanger and decorator, and brought his expertise to the United States. He worked for Shatz Painting Company, New York Life Insurance Company, and the Museum of Natural History, all in New York City, until starting his own business. He was very talented and could make any surface look like natural wood or marble. His specialty was restoration work, especially in churches and brownstones.
Two months after arriving in the U.S., he met a "wee lassie", Anne Weiss, at a benefit dance for his soccer team. They married on December 30, 1961, and raised five children, Gerald Jr. (Ellen) of Wayne, NJ; Patricia Meek of Wilmington; Kevin (Michelle) of Southport; Kathleen Oden (John) and Daniel (Angie), all of Wilmington. He was a beloved Grandad to Brianna (Alan), Julia (Bobby), Kyle (Heather), Christian, Kimmy, Anna, Jared, John, Liam, Ava, Max, and Lily, and step-grandsons Shawn and Kyle. Surviving, in addition to his wife Anne, children and grandchildren are two brothers, John of Scotland and Martin of Tasmania, Australia, and sister-in law Frieda Wilson and friend Dave Levitt of Minneapolis, as well as numerous nieces and nephews and cousins in Canada, Scotland, England, and Australia. His brothers Frank, Daniel, Joseph, and Anthony and his sisters, Jean Ryan and Mary Donaghy, predeceased him.
An avid athlete, Gerry enjoyed playing soccer and competitive badminton until his 40s. Gerry particularly loved watching soccer and was a life-long Glasgow Celtic supporter. He and his family enjoyed camping and traversed along the whole east coast with a pop-up camper or trailer. In 1980, Gerry was introduced to his beloved mountains, the Adirondacks, and discovered the game of golf and as Anne used to quip, “The older you get, the smaller the ballâ€. Gerry played at golf courses all over the U.S. while Anne took in the sights. Always a bicycling enthusiast, Gerry recently spent years riding his tricycle all over his neighborhood, where he became known as the "bike man".
He met many people on his various excursions and called everyone his friend. Since people were enraptured and enthralled by his Scottish brogue, which he never lost, Gerry would spend hours telling stories about experiences throughout his life. Although he loved to sing, he frequently forgot the words which never bothered him because then he just made up his own lyrics!
As a devout Catholic man and faithful parishioner of St. Philip's Church in Clifton, NJ, Gerry served many years as a Eucharistic Minister and as a Scout Master. In 2007, he and Anne moved to Boiling Spring Lakes, NC, where he served at Sacred Heart Church in Southport and became the librarian for the Knights of Columbus. In recent years, Gerry and Anne moved to Wilmington where they became parishioners at the Basilica Shrine of St. Mary. He also joined the local Knights and helped at the Sister Isaac Outreach Center and with the ESL classes. |