Caryl Louise Boies

BOIES,Caryl Louise Former Monte-Rio resident, passed away on December 26, 2010. She was 48. Caryl was diagnosed with inoperable stage-four lung cancer in October 2008. Caryl was born in Fullerton, California and raised in the small town of Monte Rio where she worked alongside her family in her mother's restaurant, the "Kountry Kitchen". She attended Monte Rio Elementary School and El Molino High School before moving to New York to be with her father. Caryl returned to Sonoma County to attend Sonoma State University where she earned her degree in Economics and Business Management with honors in 1984. She then went on to earn her Law Degree from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1987. Caryl made a name for herself as a litigation partner at Boies, Schiller & Flexner and was founder of the firm's Fort Lauderdale, FL, office. Her friends and family described Caryl as "a force of nature," who went up against huge companies on cases involving employment, antitrust, and consumer fraud issues. In a family statement, Boies's father, firm founder and chairman David Boies, described his daughter as "indefatigable". He noted that she worked with him on some of his biggest cases, including the Bush v. Gore proceedings to determine the winner of the 2000 presidential election, and the effort to overturn Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban. Caryl was also described as incredibly caring and strong - outwardly forceful and inwardly sensitive. Her father described her as ``5-foot-2 and tough as nails.'' While Caryl achieved a high level of success she never forgot her humble roots - growing up on the Russian River. ``The only common thread in what she did was a determination to fight for what she perceived as a justice on behalf of people who would not ordinarily have access to counsel of her caliber -- and the larger and more aggressive the defendant, the better,'' her father said. This fighting spirit was evident in the way she coped with her illness, never giving up, never complaining - she continued to help others and to live and work with strength and bravery. "She really packed an awful lot of living into the time she had,'' her father said. Last summer, Caryl, her brother, Christopher, and her standard poodle, Apollo, traveled the country in an RV, seeing people she loved and places she'd never been. Her itinerary took her from Fort Lauderdale to Manhattan, then Niagara Falls, San Francisco -- where she attended an American Bar Association convention -- Napa Valley, then Newport Beach, for a family reunion. Caryl was married for seven years to Broward Sheriff's Office Lt. Col. Richard Reilly. While she had no children of her own, she was God-Mother to five children whom she adored. She was well known and very well loved in her community as a champion of people's causes, a patron of children and a philanthropist. A favorite aunt to 14 nieces and nephews, she was past-president of the Marti Huizenga Boys and Girls Club Hollywood. Caryl was also an honored Board Member of Hawk and Horse Vineyards and was instrumental in its inception and development. The Lower Lake, California property known as Diamond B Ranch - on which the vineyards and winery sit - was a favorite place of respite for Caryl and will always be a place where Caryl's memory and spirit live on. Caryl spent her final days at her river-front home in the Rio Vista neighborhood of Ft. Lauderdale, FL - the dream home she built two years ago. She was surrounded by family who loved her deeply - her mother, father, sisters and brothers as well as aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews - singing her favorite Christmas Carols and holding her. Caryl is survived by her husband, Richard Reilly; father, David Boies, mother Caryl Elwell Boies Maniscalco; stepmother Mary Boies; brothers Christopher Boies, David Boies III, Jonathan Boies, Alexander Boies, Matthew Maniscalco; and sisters Tracey Hawkins and Mary Regency Boies. Funeral services were held January 4th at Fred Hunter Funeral Home in Fort Lauderdale to an emotional crowd of standing room only. The family suggests a contribution to the Marti Huizenga Boys and Girls Club, 1111 North 69th Way, Hollywood, FL 33024, or to your local Boys and Girls Club.