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Memorial Keepers(2)
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Jeff Boiler
1952 - 2024
1952 - 2024
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Tributes
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Nancy Nave
Jeff was definitely a leader in our class. When he moved to Medford he was such a solid new friend for many of us. I recall the tragedy his family faced and how he handled it with such dignity and grace. We are all better having known Jeff although due to a move for me to Red Bluff half way through Junior year I lost contact with him and others. RIP Jeff.
KEVIN HIGGINS
My last contacts with Jeff were during the summer of our 50th reunion. He expressed regret at not being able to make it due to ongoing court commitments. He said that his move to rural Idaho had brought him a new level of contentment in life and that he hoped to continue winding down work responsibilities and enjoy the peaceful nature of his new surroundings. It wasn’t hard to imagine him in rural Idaho, and I hope he continued to connect with the natural beauty there. He said it had changed him and that he’d softened some from the more strident views that fueled much of his work life. I’d hoped to one day be able to talk more with him about what his journey had been like. We were boyhood friends, hiking with BB guns, bows and arrows, and shotguns everywhere from RoxyAnn to Bear Creek. He loved to sing marching songs and talk in a funny duck voice. We shared dreams and aspirations, plans for bands, girlfriends, and getting out in the world. When I first started dating Diane, he was excited and supportive. Her Medford High neighborhood friends-two brothers with their own interests in her-were definitely not. They regularly waited at the end of their street for me as I drove by, and on multiple occasions chased and threatened me. I let Jeff know what was going on and he jumped at the chance to do a drive by and see if they’d bite. Sure enough they did, and we rounded just one corner before pulling over and getting out on the closest open lawn. It appeared that the bloody fight I’d been trying to avoid was about to go down, at least now with even odds. I’m still not sure how he pulled off what ensued, but as they got out and approached us the future cop came out in Jeff. The formerly tough, intimidating brothers withered in the face of a verbal beat-down that within a minute had them apologetically retreating to their car. I stood by wondering what just happened and then we were off, laughing hard at the effects of his bravado. I never heard from the brothers again. Jeff and I were never as close in the later years of high school. I remember being baffled by his joining the YAF and didn’t understand the pull of the political world that had begun in some form or another for all of us. He was already on his way, heading into a different realm of life, no longer a child.
Wayne Hackett
I last saw Jeff in December 1972 while I was home on leave following Air Force basic training. Most of my memories of Jeff are from our high school years. I spent some time at his folks' house, but mostly we would make "away" excursions. Once in a while he would come over and spend the night at my grandparents' place. As Kevin pointed out, a trip to Jeff's house wasn't complete without a field trip to Bear Creek. We'd get his dad's .410 and double barrel 12-gauge shotguns, cross the freeway, and go adventuring. When I learned both barrels on the 12-gauge could be fired at the same time, I tried it and almost had to pick myself up off the ground. Jeff worked for MODOC orchards on the same smudging crew as me, my brother Jerry, the Vakoc brothers (Martin, Dennis, and Randy), Mike Garman, and Mike Longie. What a crew of scalawags. Jeff was balancing those weird work hours with the role of Marryin' Sam he had in the school play, Lil' Abner. What a fantastic production. I always thought he was a great actor. Jeff always was focused on some crusade. I knew he was into the Young Americans for Freedom, and he would talk about it a lot. I wasn't into much of any of those types of things at the time, so it all went in one ear and out the other. It was a given fact that he was not keen on bullies, and we all witnessed it our senior year when we played Illinois Valley. Sorry if the details are out of order or not absolutely correct. There was unfinished business from the previous season when Jeff's nose was broken by one of IV's defensive linemen. I was playing center for the next year’s game and recall Jeff and that lineman trading words for a few downs, followed by Jeff grabbing him and pulling him to our side. I don't recall if any punches were traded, but I believe they were both ejected from the game. I always counted Jeff as a close friend. We didn't agree on everything, but still had a mutual respect for each other. Another thing I will never forget is how we managed to get away with some of the things we did and never get caught. He put together some incredible schemes that I thought would spell catastrophe. They never did. I miss Jeff since last seeing him 52 years ago. I miss our conversations and adventures. Time and distance will do that. And wishful thinking is only that, wishful. If there is a Valhalla, I know where you are and that you are still on a crusade. Rest in well-deserved peace, Jeff.
KEVIN HIGGINS
Jeff was a good friend and a passionate advocate. His passing brings us all back to times we shared with him and each other. Please share pictures of and stories about Jeff here.
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