Obituaries

Francis Boyle

Southold resident Frank Boyle died July 27 of natural causes.

Frank had a kind spirit and a wry sense of humor. He was a gracious host who welcomed all guests by gladly serving them a beer or a beverage of their choice. After that, and with a twinkle in his eye, he would tell you that you were now family and could serve yourself.

He came to this country with $20 in his pocket from Co. Donegal, Ireland. He fulfilled his dream of owning his own bar when he co-owned Boyle’s Bar and Grill in Sound Beach, N.Y., with his cousin John Boyle. Frank met his wife at Boyle’s Bar and Grill and his love for and devotion to her were inspirational to all who knew them. Even after 58 years of marriage, when she returned from an overnight trip with her daughters, he would greet her at the door and exclaim, “How is my bride!” — so excited that she was back home.

He was a longtime member of the Friends of Saint Patrick and served as grand marshal of the Miller Place-Rocky Point parade in 1978. After selling the bar and working for Suffolk County, he retired to Southold for a life of travel, day trips to Foxwoods, golfing at Island’s End (where he often held the record for most golf games in a season) and enjoying his grandchildren.

He volunteered as a coach for his grandson Liam’s golf club at Our Lady of Mercy elementary school, ultimately realizing that there was no use teaching them golf and resolving instead to keep them from menacing the other golfers on the course. He loved his granddaughters, Aydan and Anne, never missing a dance recital and delighting in the impromptu recitals he would enjoy from his living room chair. 

Although Frank had an eighth-grade education from a two-room schoolhouse, his Army captain recognized his keen intelligence and ordered Frank to take the GED test after Frank initially refused. Frank passed the first time with flying colors. He always had a book by his chair and, while he never attended college, his family and friends noted how well-read he was.

He loved watching sports and playing the horses and often would be found at the OTB with the grandkids when it was his turn to babysit. A late-in-life honor, Frank loved telling people it took him 86 years to be Mr. December in Eastern Long Island Hospital’s 2019 calendar.

Frank enjoyed family time with his brother Pat, his only other sibling in the U.S., and Pat’s children and their families. At any wedding or family gathering he and Pat would sneak away to watch the races or the football game on TV. They laughed, told stories and reverted to their Irish brogues so few could understand what they were saying.

Frank is survived by his wife, Dorothy (née Nutz); daughters, Theresa Boyle Romanelli and Peg Boyle Single; and grandchildren, Aydan and Liam Ackermann and Anne Single.

His ashes will be interred at Calverton National Cemetery in 2021, when the COVID crisis has passed. Donations in his memory may be made to Eastern Long Island Hospital (ELIH.org) or the Friends of Saint Patrick (friendsofstpatrick.org). All who know and love him are certain the wind is now always at his back and God is holding him in the palm of His hand.

This is a paid notice.