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Highland Memorial Parks
5315 Kingston Pike
Knoxville,
TN
37919
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“Mrs. Boyle and her piano lessons was my most favorite birthday present I ever received. She gave me much more than her weekly music lessons. She...Read More »
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1 of 10 | Posted by: Susan Vonier - Knoxville, TN
“Becky and Gerry, I'm just a phone call away. Know you are loved!
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2 of 10 | Posted by: karen and paul miller - bristol, VA
“I was blessed by Mrs. Boyle's kindness and talent as a musician and teacher.
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3 of 10 | Posted by: Tim Conner - Knoxville, TN
“My love and friendship goes out to you and all of your family at this sorrowful time.
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4 of 10 | Posted by: Marilyn Bacon - Mohawk, TN
“Dear John, Bevy and Harold, Bill and Karen, Becky and Gerry,
I am sorry to hear of your loss, and I wish I could be with your today,August 18. I was...Read More »
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5 of 10 | Posted by: Cathy McDonough - Niles, MI
“Dear Family of Claudine,
It is with much regret that I will not be able to attend the Sabbath Service. I will be out of town to attend a long...Read More »
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6 of 10 | Posted by: Sarah Ann McNeilus - Knoxville, TN
“We send our sympathy during your time of loss, and know you are looking forward to the day when you will be reunited with your mother when Jesus...Read More »
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7 of 10 | Posted by: Bob and Gail MacAlpine - Candler, NC
“My thoughts and prayers are w/ you and Bev. Hugs and love to you both.
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8 of 10 | Posted by: Mary Lou Hassell - Limestone, TN
“So sorry to hear of Claudine,s death she will be missed by many. Sorry we cannot be there for her services.
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9 of 10 | Posted by: Ed and Peggy Sconiers - GA
“While I'm saddened by your mother's passing, she was blessed with a long, well-loved life. Best wishes, Jennifer & Charlie
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10 of 10 | Posted by: Jennifer Hann - Jonesborough, TN
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Claudine Willowford Hopkins Boyle, 88, slipped to her rest in the early morning hours of August 15, 2012, after sustained illnesses. She was born in Ellenwood, Georgia on January 23, 1924, daughter of Claude and Peggy Hopkins. An only child, she was surrounded by four aunts and an uncle who both pampered and mothered her. She was preceded in death by her parents, aunts and uncle, and a sister-in-law and brother-in-law. She is survived by her husband of 68 years, John William Boyle Jr., 94, whose devotion to her care extended her life, and by her three children: daughter Beverly and husband Harold Duckett of Knoxville, TN; son Dr. J. William Boyle III and wife, Karen of Kingsport, TN; and daughter Rebecca and husband Dr. Gerald Mitchell of Limestone, TN; and step-grand-daughter Tara and husband Erik Petersen of Denver, CO.; cousins/step-brothers Dr. Robert Buckner and wife Beverly of Stone Mountain, GA., Douglas Buckner and wife Donna of Monroe, GA.; cousins Joe Grant, Sylvia Kelly and Peggy Sconiers, all of Ellenwood GA.; and second and third generations of cousins and their children. Interesting family entanglements made Claudine her own cousin, her mother also her aunt and her uncle also her step-father, when after the death of her father and the death of her aunt, her mother married her widowed uncle. In the process, her two cousins, Bob and Doug also became her step-brothers. Additionally, a step-cousin later became her son-in-law. This spider-web of relationships was the topic of many family laughs and light-hearted conversations. Mrs. Boyle was a gifted musician from the beginning. She performed on Atlanta radio station WSB at age five. She was the life of a party, able to play anything on an accordion or piano after hearing only a few notes. She played less than a month ago at her post-hospital care facility. When she came to Oak Ridge to join her husband John, also from Atlanta, she joined the Knoxville First Seventh-day Adventist Church, where she was pianist and organist for many years. She had a sense of humor and couldn't resist a dare. She once played elaborately improvised versions of Mary Had a Little Lamb and Row, Row, Row Your Boat during Sabbath morning worship services. John was a PhD chemistry student at the University of North Carolina in 1944, with the World War II draft hot on his heels. A turn in his life came when he was sent to the University of Chicago, hired as one of the first 1000 scientists for a secret mission, then sent to the secured, secret town of Oak Ridge, where he worked on the Manhattan Project, which produced the atomic bomb that ended World War II. For more than forty years, Mrs. Boyle taught piano and organ at the Knoxville Adventist School, where she had a special affinity for beginning students. She especially loved teaching her three talented Tims" and E.C.. After retiring from regular teaching, she took an adult student solely because his name was Tim. She was always a person of general good cheer, but she could also scold with raised eyebrows and prick with targeted sarcasm. She will be remembered by her sons-in-law and daughter-in-law as more a friend than mother-in-law, who never meddled, but was always ready to lend a hand; and by her friends and many students with memories of her loyalty and the music that flowed from her hands. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Claudine Boyle Musical Education Trust Fund, c/o Knoxville Adventist School, 3615 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, 37919.
