NAME(S) ON TILE:                 THE BOYLE FAMILY

W. LARKIN AND CATHERINE

DONOR NAME(S):                   RAY AND SUSAN WERNER

Chuck’s ancestors came from Strasburg, Alsace Loraine and Co. Offaly and Dublin, Ireland in the mid 1800s.  Pauline’s ancestors came from Glencolumcille, Co. Donegal, Ireland, and Holland, also in the mid 1800s.  Chuck was born in Bluefield, W. Va., in 1900, the youngest of 7 children, the son of Susan Connelly and Joe Werner. Pauline was born in Turtle Creek, Pa., in 1909, the second oldest of 7 children of Marie O’Hara and Harry Short.  They met in Freedom, Pa.  Chuck was 26, Pauline was 17, when they traveled on the Pennsy to Hays, Kansas, to be married by their Capuchin Franciscan friend, Fr. Theodore.  On the side of the hill in Freedom they raised 6 children - Patricia, Rita, Larry, Ray, Bernie and Kathleen.

Chuck was a railroader and yardmaster.  He could bake, cook, cut hair, do just about anything.  He worshipped Pauline, the sweetest person we ever knew.  She was revered by all and inspired by her children.  They taught us how to live.

We grew up with love, laughter, music, hard work and kindness.  Neighbors and relatives gathered often around our kitchen table for songs, stories and recitations.  We took piano lessons from Mrs. Hetzler.  We played in the woods.  Crow’s Run.  Dutchman’s Run.  The gas well.  We picked blackberries, blueberries and wild mushrooms.  Every fall, many jars were put up.  Visitors left with a pint of something special -- peppers, tomatoes, green beans or chili sauce.

Chuck wrote poems to Pauline and left them in unexpected places - on the kitchen table, or beside a piece of fish in the refrigerator.  We prayed the family rosary, led by Pauline.  Hoboes came often to the generous door.  We knew Mr. Blank who delivered eggs, Alex the Huckster and farmer Dilly Piersol who delivered milk.  In the big snow of ‘51, he delivered it on a horse drawn sleigh.  We were sent down to Depaolis’s Clover Farm Market for groceries.  They put it on the bill, paid promptly every two weeks.

Pauline was frail her whole life and died at 58.  Patty gave everything, helped us through school and helped take care of our dad.  He died at 77 and Patty died a year later, at 49.

People still speak of Chuck and Pauline in awe.  They were unforgettable people who taught us to share, stay together and be thankful.  They would be proud of their 17 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.  And that none of us wandered too far from Freedom.  Or each other.  Or ever will.