Brendan Matthew Boily
Oct. 9, 1950 – Oct. 6, 2017
Brendan Matthew Boily, 66, died Oct. 6, 2017 at South Peninsula Hospital following a traumatic head injury. He had fallen down the crawl space opening at his home on Clover Lane on Sept. 18, 2017. Brendan had health issues for a number of years but it was the fall that hastened his departure.
Brendan was born Oct. 9, 1950 to Norman E. Boily and Eleanor M. DeGulio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He grew up on the East Coast between New Jersey and Massachusetts. He married Patti O’Reilly on Aug. 30, 1968. In 1973 he, Patti and their 4-year-old son, Sean, left Cape Cod to find America. They ended up briefly in Montana before travelling the Alaska Highway to the Hinterlands (Alaska). There they joined his brother, Marc and his wife Mary and their children Marija and Nathan in what they called The Bush — in truth it was only 13 miles northeast of Talkeetna along Clear Creek. While living in a three bedroom Visqueen shelter for seven they started a log cabin. It was a frigid winter, but none of them knew it because they were on a great adventure, and after all, it was Alaska and it had to be colder than New England.
Brendan and his family moved out of Talkeetna the following spring finding, a number of jobs before settling in Eagle River building custom log homes in Glen Eagle. In 1977 they left Eagle River and moved south to Homer. Brendan continued building mostly custom homes, adding remodeling and additions to his repertoire. There are a number of homes and light commercial remodels in the lower Kenai Peninsula that have his expertise and flair.
Brendan also commercial fished for a few years — halibut and crab in Dutch Harbor as well as lower Cook Inlet, Kachemak Bay and the Kenai Fjords. He sat for his 100-ton Master Mariner License with an Endorsement for Sail in January 1994. Brendan and Patti both loved the water and particularly sailing. He, Patti and son Tristan (Sean was off to college) had many adventures with their first sailboat, Oriole, a 24-foot pocket cruiser which was perfect for learning to sail the bay. When Tristan was 10 they took it on a two-week cruise to Seward and back, which made them realize he was only going to get bigger.
They added Gwylan, a 32-foot cruisier that was perfect for a small family to adventure sail in the Gulf of Alaska. Brendan ran a sailing charter business also before eco-tourism had really taken off in Kachemak Bay, Gwylan Sail Charters. It was fun and the people were great, but it just wasn’t enough for a business, so they continued their adventuring, sailing mostly the Bay, the Fjords and the Gulf of Alaska, sailing as far west as Geographic Harbor and eastward to Prince William Sound as far as Whittier. Brendan and Patti particularly loved to sail in the Kenai Fjords as well as the Kodiak archipelago, mostly because it was a “skip, hop and jump” from the Bay they called home for 40 years.
Brendan was a man of many talents that included pottery and knife making. He had many interests in his lifetime, and was an avid reader. Before sailing he had been a pretty avid gardener, but once he started sailing they became his gardens of gross neglect.
Brendan is survived by his wife Patti; sons Sean (Sarah), Tristan and Mar; father Norman; mother-in-law Connie (Britta); brothers David (Carol) and Marc (Valerie), and sister Jane (Jim) and their families. Brendan also is survived by his grandchildren Clare and Axel of Juneau as well as many nieces, nephews and in-laws.
A memorial is planned for this summer.
