James Boyle Obituary

Remembering Jim fondly.... love and hugs to Jackie, Greg and family

Very, very sad to hear of Uncle Jim's passing. Our thoughts and love go to all who were touched by him.
He always greeted others with a warm smile and a joke, he always listened to what you had to say and he always made people feel special.
Dennis Jr.'s comment of "a sermon without words" is especially fitting.
The example he set of decency to all, humor for humors sake, and unlimited and unending love for those closest to him should be a goal for all of us who were fortunate enough to have him in our lives.

Uncle Jim has a special place in my heart. My favorite uncle. I’ve always loved laughing and joking with him and always made me feel like he was my biggest fan. I enjoyed going to plays with Aunt Jackie and Uncle Jim. Jim had a flare for picking out something special, from the sad but brilliant life of Billie Holiday to an awkward naked dinner party (where we sat deep in the audience with no intermission). I loved Uncle Jim’s energy and kindness and will miss him greatly.

Always in my heart. Loved his sense of humor and looked up to him for a lot of years.

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

My deepest sympathy to Jackie, Greg and his family. May a lifetime of wonderful memories help get you through this difficult time.

Uncle Jim

“Let me tell you what I wish I'd known
When I was young and dreamed of glory
You have no control
Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?”
--Lin-manuel Miranda

My oldest clear memory of my Uncle Jimmy was being with him and my father at a White Sox game. I must have been around three-or-less when this happened because it was before my parents were separated.

Also an early memory, while my parents will still together, I remember visiting Uncle Jimmy’s business “Fish City” many times. As a young boy, I found looking at the fish there wonderful. And in my young boy’s mind, his leaving that store was huge disappointment to me. I was very young at the time so I can’t remember for sure, but I think it was on Lawrence Avenue near Kedzie.

I also remember Uncle Jimmy, my cousin Greg, my Dad, my brother Doug, and myself going to some cabins in Crivitz, Wisconsin, one year for a week-long fishing trip. I remember Uncle Jimmy saying, “Oh joy for daddy,” a lot during that time.

After Fish City, Uncle Jim’s job that impressed me the most as a kid was when he became an executive associated with Papermate. I remember him handing out erasable pens at a Boyle gathering one time. And a pen that could be erased seemed like a miracle to me.

Another childhood memory with Uncle Jim was when Doug, Greg, and I would play with toys in Greg’s room during a Boyle-family party. When a noisy toy left the room early in the party, we got yelled at. But later in the party, when spirits were merrier, such interruptions were greeted with hilarity!

I seem to recall a Superbowl party at Uncle Jim’s one year. And I seem to remember another Christmas party where instead of grab bag or white elephant, we rolled dice for presents. This inspired my brother and I to have the wise men play dice in the midst of our nativity scene once, in imitation of a Boyle Christmas party. Without question, the most coveted grab-bag prize at one such party was the Bears’ Super Bowl Shuffle VHS in 1985.

When I was confirmed in 1981, I took the confirmation name James. Legacy naming is what I am all about. Of course, Grandpa James and Uncle Jimmy come to mind.

Having moved south from Chicago in 1986, coupled with some regrettable decisions on my part, there was a slight gap in our relations. But in 1990 I started annually vacationing in Chicago. And Uncle Jim’s support for me during the summer I lived with my father in 1996, earned him what I would later learn is a “mitzvah,” at least in my judgment. Uncle Jim’s “mitzvahs,” are truly more numerous than I can recount here.

A fun time I had with Uncle Jim as a younger adult in 1996 was going with him and Greg to see the Mamet play Cryptogram. I found it interesting, but over my head. Thanks to Greg’s decoding its literally—or literarily—cryptic message for me on the ride back, I did come to some understanding of the play. And I am now I able to occasionally casually refer to it. Uncle Jim and his family helped take me to the next level in ways such as this.

In 2001 when my father died, my brother and I could barely afford to travel to Chicago for his funeral. But Uncle Jim oversaw covering the expenses to pay for Dennis Mark Boyle, Sr.’s funeral (and many thanks to other family and friends who contributed too). It was far too personally painful to be pleasurable for me at the time, but looking back my father had a tremendous send-off thanks in large part to Uncle Jim https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/dennis-boyle-obituary?pid=157977 . I had hoped Uncle Jim had many more years to come when I originally wrote much of this for him this for his 80th Birthday last July. But because of the pandemic, I am left to eulogize him here. I think Uncle Jim is the one whom successful Boyle’s attempted to emulate. He did this out of kindness, love, and example, which is what Saint Francis would call a sermon without words. And Uncle Jim deserved more than this! If our prayers for him during his illness accomplished nothing else, I pray they somehow helped him feel somewhere in spirit and soul that we loved him, and he was not alone for all this love.

After Uncle Jim retired, I saw him several times when he would make trips to Orlando. I greatly appreciated each visit. The most notable visit for me was when he became my only family member (before Meghan became my wife) to witness me host trivia at An Tobar Irish Pub in Maitland, Florida. He played on a team of lawyers from Daytona who later introduced me to Meghan. Meghan and I both treasure her meeting with Uncle Jim and Aunt Jacki in 2012.

In 2012 Uncle Jim gave my father a headstone. I had hoped I get to visit the grave with Uncle Jim someday. But now that I won’t, I hope to at least get to visit it someday with my son William Dennis Douglas Boyle. And when I point to the place where Billy’s dada’s father is buried, I will also take him to the place Uncle Jim is laid to rest and made that all possible.

“Inclyti, Israel, super montes tuos interfecti sunt: quo modo ceciderunt fortes!” (II Samuelis 1:19, Biblia Sacra Vulgata)

I think Uncle Jim is an unreplaceable human of seemingly Homeric proportions. Not having him in the family now feels to me like the Ancient Greek army in The Iliad without Achilles. Lacking Uncle Jim’s living example, I am left to try to don his metaphorical armor of example. How the Hector do I do that?

Uncle Jim achieved all his success despite humble beginnings. I think he was the last remaining family member who actually lived in an orphanage. And as he told me, there was nothing romantic or pleasantly nostalgic about that time in his life. In Uncle Jim I saw a man who literally survived a tour on duty in Vietnam, which he humbly dismissed as nearly nothing, and by his wits and wisdom became educated and all he became. He was an exemplary family man and he was dutifully cognizant of his roots and family. He was our family genealogist, historian, and point-of-contact. As a nephew I miss him and will continue to miss him so much. Whatever I can do to help Aunt Jacki, my cousin Greg, all of his more immediate family, and Uncle Terry I offer my best. Only time will reduce the pain.

Our sympathy and special prayers for Mr. Boyle and all his family and friends.

Jackie, Greg and family,
You're in my prayers. We're here for whatever we can do.
Knowing Jim was a privilege for me. May God help him rest in peace and comfort you and yours.
Love you guys, DD