1. John Boyles Letter After teaching 5th grade Science in Ossining for 23 years, I retired. We moved to Albany for a year or so and then Joan and I moved down here to N.C. and built our house on Lake Gaston. This April we celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary. We are always busy... after finishing the initial work on the house and land, we became involved with our county democratic party. We also helped organize and worked with a group that got the old "originally all-white" public library building replaced with a beautiful, new, larger one. We have also lobbied, marched and demonstrated for various causes. Most were sponsored by the ACLU, NAACP or NC Justice. We have met many very interesting people and we are enjoying our senior years. Take care, John 2. Chris Bradley: Meeting with Joan Boyle, John's widow The next morning we were off to Littleton, North Carolina, to visit with Joan Boyle, John's widow. We ran into quite a back-up on I-95 and so took to the state and county roadways to make our way to Lake Gaston. And then it poured – seemingly for hours. We had to call Joan twice to delay our arrival and the dinner she was, so graciously, preparing for us. At moments we are slowed by the crowded roads of NC, only to be surprised at the emptiness of the back country in which we found ourselves, as we closed in on Littleton and Lake Gaston – very near the Virginia boarder. Joan was waiting for us at the end of the gravel road, standing at the foot of her drive, surrounded by trees and shrubs which make up the front yard; she directs us to the right side of a circular drive. We are in the middle of what - we were to later learn – was the result of John's love of gardening. Joan didn't know much about Barb and me as we drove up her drive, except from what she might have gleaned from some Band emails and some phone calls. That we are part of Maryknoll and connected to John was good enough for her – she opened her home and heart to us. Tall in stature, Juan has a commanding presence and voice - good qualities to have as a teacher. Joan is a delight. We talked over a welcoming dinner with wine and into the evening about our lives over the years, punctuated at times with much laughter. Joan met John at Maryknoll, NY– he would join in with a group of social activists who regularly met on campus. They married and raised 7 children. Joan put us to bed that evening – bless her heart – for it was late and we were in need of rest before continuing the trip to Delaware and my sister's place. The private getaway on Lake Gaston is part of their life story. They found a lot right on a finger of the lake, of which there are many fingers. However, before they purchased Joan learned that the road was owned by each homeowner populating each side of the road and there existed no legal rights of way. Property lines meet at road center. Things were not done like this in New York, and Joan would have none of that. She refused to purchase until each homeowner, along the mile of roadway of Wilsor Oaks, signed a document giving the Boyles a legal right of way to their property. Joan brought more than NY accent to NC, she brought NY savvy and swagger to NC with than move. John and Joan built their home with the front facing the lake. However, it was quite a drop from the front door to the water's edge. Take a look at the attached picture of the front of the home and it's decking. Between Joan's math background and John carpentry skill, they calculated the needed board and timber sizes to construct the main patio deck and its descending stairs and multiple decks to the water's edge. What's more, they did the construction themselves! Wow! I asked Joan if she would like to write up a little piece for the John's Band of Brothers. Joan's home address and email are listed on the latest class roster. The following are Joan's words: John F. Boyle August 4,1938 - April 26,2013 John and I were very lucky. We truly loved each other. We almost made it to our 41st Wedding Anniversary on April 29th. John learned he had cancer on April 1st, 2013. His doctor arranged for Hospice Care and our daughter Mary, a nurse, came and stayed until John died on April 26th. We had many good years together, sharing good times with our family and seeing the children grow up to be fine, responsible, loving, caring adults. He taught Science in the Ossining Schools for twenty years. We shared many great experiences, working for different causes, traveling around our country and abroad. John was a truly unique individual. He had loads of friends and everyone, who really got to know him, loved and admired him. His death was a great loss not only for our immediate family but for the many people whose lives he touched in Warren County and before that in New York. Some people pass through our lives like a never-ending stream. Others stop and touch our hearts with a warmth that never leaves. That was John!