Tributes

Life is fleeting and should be embraced. Few do as Julia Boyle did. She was born to parents who had fled the ravages of WWI, arriving with little English. Her father died when she was three, forcing her mother, Anna, to work two jobs to support Julia and brother Peter. Anna enlisted her sister’s help in their care, but they had to amuse themselves. Together, they found magic in their childhood days. Fairmont Park became their playground and the Philadelphia Art Museum a second home that fostered their imagination and talent. Both grew into gifted artists. All things beautiful animated our mother. When we were children, she would drive us out into nature where she would paint and we would explore. She won many a Delaware award for her paintings. She sewed our clothes, cooked like a chef, and loved to garden. Socially she was a bright star at bridge and joined a modern dance group under the renowned Bea Bell. She gave us a full childhood, open to discovery. Who but she would allow us a Bunsen burner to blow glass, to climb atop our roof to admire a view, or to take sheets into the garden on rainy days for a makeshift tent. If there was snow on the ground there was bound to be an igloo with eskimo-style meals inside. She convinced our father to take us to the shore in August, although he hated sand. We followed her along the beach, collecting shells and admiring sandpipers. She showed us the wonder of sliding her hand into tidal sand to present a wiggling crab. On our boat she taught us to catch the soft shelled ones that would become our dinner. Julia took up being a grandmother as seamlessly as being a daughter and mother. One of her daughters once bemoaned the fact that she could not get Julia’s grandson to ride a bike without training wheels. That afternoon, she was surprised to see him riding unaided, he and Julia singing, “I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover.” Julia could devise a way inspire confidence or distract from apprehension with something as simple as teaching a new song. In closing the chapter on Julia’s life we would be remiss not to mention her special bond with our furry friends. Animals sensed her sensitive spirit and embraced her as she did them. She might not remember the name of a new acquaintance, but she never forgot the name of a dog. She embodied the good, she was generous, talented, happy and above all kind. Julia is survived by her daughters Julianne Hunter, Patrice Masri, and Cynthia Filoon, and grandchildren Jenny, James, Alex, Caroline and Freddy, and sons-in-law Jim and Stephen. The family will receive guests from 9:30-10:15 AM on Sat. Jan. 18th. at St. Katharine of Siena Church, 104 S. Aberdeen Rd., Wayne, PA, followed by her Funeral Mass at 10:30 AM. Int. Calvary Cem. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Humane Society of US (www.humanesociety.org/site/Donation2?24225.donation=form1&df_id=24225)

Tributes

Julia Boyle

October 2, 1928 - January 12, 2020