Obitguaries: Roy E. Boyle

Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Roy E. Boyle, 88, of Astoria, died Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2006, in Astoria.

Born Sept. 3, 1918, in Hockinson, Wash., he was the son of Edward and Helena (Baumgartner) Boyle. Raised in the Warrenton area, he graduated from Warrenton High School in 1936.

In 1945, he married Mary Lucchesi. In 1976, she preceded him in death in Surf Pines, shortly after they moved to Clatsop County from Alaska.

He married Dorothy Daggett Morgan in Seaside in 1980. She survives, residing in Astoria.

After graduating from high school, Mr. Boyle joined the U.S. Army, serving with the engineers in Portland, and later at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, where he applied for pilot training school. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Force, which later became the U.S. Air Force, and was assigned to the 381st Bomb Group, flying many missions over Europe as a B-17 pilot. He was based in Ridgewell, England, with the 8th Army, and trained other airmen in the operation of B-17s, receiving many commendations as a trainer.

Mr. Boyle was involved in ferrying troops and supplies into Korea during the Korean conflict, and he did not lose a plane or a crew member. In 1960, he retired as a major, having received the Air Force commendation Medal, Air Medal and the Korean War Medal.

Mr. Boyle worked for the Federal Aviation Administration, and was in charge of the flight standards offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska. He retired in 1976.

A member of the Military Officers Association, he was also a member of the Pioneer Presbyterian Church, Astoria Country Club, Astoria Elks Lodge, Columbia River Maritime Museum Association and the American Legion.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by two brothers and a sister-in-law, Johnny Boyle of Warrenton and Donald and Kathy Boyle of Battleground, Wash.; a sister, Lois Gelder of Centralia, Wash.; two stepdaughters, Diane Keetch, and her husband, Ralph, of Ritzville, Wash., and Sharon Morgan of Pateros, Wash.; a grandson and spouse, RJ and Tabitha Keetch of Henderson, Nev.; a sister-in-law and her husband, Helen and Douglas Campbell of California; a brother-in-law, Lorne Daggett of Vancouver, British Columbia; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, and from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday, at Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary in Astoria.

A memorial will be held at noon Saturday at the Pioneer Presbyterian Church on Clatsop Plains with the Rev. Michael Pyburn officiating. A reception will follow at the church.

A private graveside service will be held Saturday at Greenwood Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Pioneer Presbyterian Church Scholarship Fund or the Columbia River Maritime Museum, in care of Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary, 1165 Franklin Ave., Astoria, OR 97103.