Dr. Frederick H. Boyle

Published 12:20 am Sunday, October 11, 2015

April 23, 1928 – September 26th, 2015

Dr. Frederick H. Boyle died on September 26th, 2015 after a long battle with Congestive Heart Failure. He was 87 years old.

Fred was born on April 23, 1928, in the town of Lincoln situated in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The son of Frederick Boyle and Grace Merrill Boyle Fifield, Fred learned to love skiing, hunting, and fishing as a young boy and continued to be a sportsman throughout his life.

Fred attended Mount Herman School for Boys located in Northfield, Massachusetts. While at Mount Herman Fred played baseball, ran on the cross country team, was captain of the ski team, and treasurer of the senior class. Fred graduated from Mount Herman in 1946 and joined the U.S. Marines under the G.I. Bill as a navigator. In 1952 Fred attended Western State College in Gunnison, CO, and was a member of the ski team as a 4 event skier, competing in jumping, cross country, downhill, and slalom. Fred met his future wife, Retta Mae Haddock from Pueblo, Colorado, during his senior year and they married soon after graduation. Fred and Retta were blessed with 4 children; Kathleen, Kevin, Keenan, and Megan.

The next 10 years found the Boyle family zigzagging across the country so that Fred could advance in his profession. In 1958 Fred attended Harvard on a National Science Foundation Scholarship earning a Master’s Degree in teaching Mathematics. The family then lived in Alaska and Florida, where Fred earned additional degrees and held progressively higher positions eventually culminating in a doctorate in Junior College Administration in 1965.

In 1967 at 39 years of age, Dr. Fred Boyle accepted what would be his last professional position as the President of Central Oregon Community College (COCC). While Fred had many accomplishments and made many contributions to the college and the community, perhaps his greatest and most enduring contribution was his vision for higher education in Central Oregon. This vision is alive today through the Oregon State University – Cascades.

Throughout his life, Fred always found a way to nourish his adventurous and sportsman side. As a way to pay for college, Fred went to Alaska during the summers and worked in coal and gold mines. Later when the family lived in Fairbanks he worked as a big game guide hunting for Dall sheep, grizzly, and caribou. Later in life Fred spent time in Canada, The Bahamas, and Belize fly fishing.

After retiring from COCC Fred spent more time doing what he loved which included spending time with his family, traveling, fishing, hunting, and gardening. Retta died in 1995 after a long battle with cancer. Fred met the second love in his life, Patricia “Pat” Elliott who he married in 1998.

Fred will be remembered by his family as a man who lived life to the fullest and who overcame adversity to ultimately live a life of meaning, courage, and love. Fred was a voracious reader who typically read multiple books at one time. He had a great love for music and for literature, and he often found it amusing to exhibit his own acuity by quizzing his family with quotes from famous poems or books. Fred loved to tell stories and to engage in discussions with his family. One of his favorite pastimes was to discuss past hunting trips with his son and grandchildren. Fred never forgot any adversity he experienced or his blue collar roots, and made a commitment early on to make some kind of contribution to the betterment of the human condition. He did this through his love of exploration, learning, and education, and drove us all to do the same.

Fred was preceded in death by his first wife Retta Mae Haddock Boyle, children Kevin Boyle, Kathleen Lowe, mother Grace Fifield, stepfather Stanley Fifield, sister Ann Bassett, and stepson Grant Elliott. Fred is survived by his wife Patricia Elliott Boyle of Bend, OR; children Keenan (Rebecca) Boyle of Portland, OR, Megan Boyle of Portland, OR; stepchildren Michael (Kristen) Elliott, Tim (Jennifer) Elliott; son-in-law Doug Lowe; daughter-in-law Pam Elliott; grandchildren Travis (Sandy) Lowe, Trenton Lowe, Caitlin (Logan) Oestman, Grace Boyle, Michael Elliott, Annie Elliott, Cowboy Elliott; great grandsons Dalton Oestman, Keller Lowe (expected in April).

A celebration of Fred’s life will be held at 11am on Saturday October 24, 2015, at the Coats Campus Center at Central Oregon Community College, reception to follow. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the COCC Foundation, Boyle Education Center, 2600 NW College Way, Bend, OR 97703.