Alfred G. Boylan

Boylan, Alfred G.

Pittsford: Alfred G. Boylan, 97 passed away on March 8, 2015 with his wife of 66 wonderful and happy years, and his children and grandchildren at his side. He was predeceased by his parents, John P. and Alma W. Boylan, sister, Mary E. Boylan, and brother, John W. Boylan. He is survived by his wife, Mildred, children, Mark (Anne) of Rochester, Mary John of Gloucester, MA, and Ted (Miranda) of Concord, MA, grandchildren, Schuyler, Tristan, Maura and Conor Boylan, Olivia and Annie Gale, and many attentive and devoted nieces and nephews.

Al was born July 26, 1917 in Plattsburgh, NY. At an early age his family moved to Rochester, where he attended Nazareth Hall Academy and Aquinas Institute. He is a Graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Law School, and in 1942 he joined the U.S. Army as a Private and was honorably discharged in 1946 as Captain in the Judge Advocate General's Corps in Washington, DC.

Al then returned to Rochester where he joined the law firm of Nixon, Hargrave, Devans and Doyle (now Nixon Peabody). Following a six-year apprenticeship where he gained experience in the law he decided to go into private practice. After several years, he teamed up with Robert V. Gianniny and E. Willoughby Middleton, forming Middleton, Gianniny and Boylan. In 1975, he merged with six young attorneys from Wiser-Shaw, creating the firm that is today Boylan Code LLP. He retired in 1987 after a highly distinguished 40-plus year career in the law.

Al's hobbies included tennis, and amateur theater, serving on the board and acting in many productions of the Rochester Community Players, when it was located in the old church on the corner of Clinton Avenue and Meigs Street. He starred in many roles, but his favorite was as Franklin D. Roosevelt in "Sunrise at Campobello," co-starring with his wife, Mildred as Eleanor Roosevelt, and daughter, Mary John as young Anna Roosevelt.

Always a man of letters, after his retirement reading became a way of life for Al, along with enjoying summers at his home on Bopple Hill overlooking Canandaigua Lake. He was a member of the Genesee Valley Club for over 50 years, where he enjoyed his many friends at the "all-comers" table. He was also a member of the Kent Club, Oasis and the "Friday Lunch Bunch."

Al was known for his gentlemanly manner, his quiet wit and remarkable memory. Still at the age of 97, at the mention of any subject he would immediately come up with an apt quotation, whether from Horace, Shakespeare, Yeats, Kipling, or even P.G. Wodehouse or Ogden Nash. With equal ease, if it suited the situation, he could call to mind a limerick, a famous quotation from a movie, or the lyric of a popular song of his era. An amazing and natural gift that brought enjoyment to his friends and joy to his wife: "From the day we met there was never a dull moment with Al. It was a delight to be with him; he sparked my imagination."

A memorial Mass will be held Saturday, March 14, 11:30 a.m. at St. Mary's Church, 15 St. Mary's Place in downtown Rochester. In lieu of flowers, a donation in Al's memory may be made to the Mildred and Al Boylan Fund at the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, 500 University Ave, Rochester, NY 14607 or to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester, 150 French Road, Rochester, NY 14618. To share a memory of Al or to send a condolence to the family visit www.anthonychapels.com.