Marie Boynton
March 17, 1931 – Aug. 6, 2018

Marie Boynton, 87 – a matriarch in her own way and throughout her life, who raised five children, gave unselfishly of her time, and was a friend to many in the Ferndale community – passed in the early hours of August 6th after spending the weekend with family and friends. She is survived by and will be gravely missed by her husband Don of 67 years — they would have celebrated their next anniversary on August 16th.

She had a long and fulfilling life, spending all 87+ of them in Ferndale. Born to her Danish parents Ingeborg and Peter Lorenzen on March 17, 1931 (Saint Patrick’s Day), her first 12 years of life were spent on a dairy at the end of Coppini Lane playing and working on the ranch with her 4 brothers: Niels, Linus, William and Arnold. If you asked Marie about it, she’d probably omit playing from the last sentence and talk about crawling up and down the carrot and beet rows weeding, but growing up on a dairy gave her a work ethic that she exemplified in all she did and passed down several generations.

At the age of 13, Marie and her family moved to the diary behind the Valley Flower Creamery on Dillon Road. She was living here in 1949 when she graduated Ferndale High School and became a bookkeeper for Petersen’s Chevrolet Garage uptown. Unbeknown to her, it’s also the home where she would meet the love of her life. Donald Boynton was fishing buddies with Marie’s brothers Linus and Niels. Don would later admit that part of the reason he fished with Marie’s brothers was so he’d have an excuse to go by their house and see her; Marie would later admit to doing a good job polishing the car on Sunday afternoon to get the attention of her brothers’ cute friend. About a year after graduation, Don and Marie were married on Aug 16th, 1950.

Soon after marriage, they bought and operated a neighboring dairy on Dillon Road until their retirement in 1987. It’s here that they raised their five children. At the home, Marie became housekeeper and cook; at the ranch, she became the bookkeeper, tax preparer, and even a farm hand some days when she would help bale hay or retrieve needed farm equipment. Her children remember weekend trips to be a combination of work and play: picking a bucket of berries at the river before swimming, picking apples in the redwoods or huckleberries at Patrick’s Point before being able to play, fishing at the south jetty was a treat because there were no berries in sight (and therefore no picking required). One weekend trip that everyone looked forward to was the yearly camping trip to Standish Hickey State Park — this started 50 years ago and continues today, expanding to serve as an extended family reunion every summer.

Marie was an extraordinary cook. Known as Grandma Cookie by her grand and great-grandchildren due to the abundance of cakes, pies, apple dumplings and of course cookies at her many family gatherings, she brought friends and family together with a smorgasbord of food at all of the parties she hosted – holidays, birthdays, graduations, relatives from out of town visiting, and pretty much anytime a family member had something to celebrate. She always looked forward to having everyone up to her house, either for a party or to play cards. Hand and Foot was her game of choice, and one she played weekly with her group of friends. Besides cooking, Marie also liked to teach her family proper grammar and table etiquette. I don’t think we’ll say “Me and …” or “Can I have a…”, wear our hat indoors, or put our elbows on the dining table without thinking of her for a long time to come.

She shared her time and skills with the community by becoming an avid volunteer. When her daughters were young she was a 4-H leader, teaching the next generation how to sew and cook. She donated homemade stuffed animals for use at the Catholic Church’s annual bazaar. In 2011, the Ferndale Museum recognized Marie as Volunteer of the Year for her faithful commitment as a docent, welcoming visitors and answering their questions. She was also a “gallon” blood donor. Marie’s sense of civic duty lead her to be an elections official in Ferndale for over 50 years and serve on the Humboldt County Grand Jury.   

She is survived by her five children: Frank, Pat, Linda, Mike and Larry Boynton; their spouses: Allan Stults (Pat), Mike Coan (Linda), and Heather (Mike); her eight grandchildren: Nikki Pedotti, Loretta Rocha, and Ray Carpenter (Linda), Ryan, Derek, Tyson, and Tara (Mike), and Jason (Larry); their spouses: Luke Pedotti (Nikki), Cory Rocha (Loretta), and Alexandra (Derek); and her 7 great grandchildren: Zach, Cassidy, and Caden Rocha (Loretta), Alexis and Nolan Pedotti (Nikki), Robert (Tyson), and Cali (Derek).

The family would like to thank the River House and Hospice of Humboldt for their compassionate care of Marie. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Ferndale Museum or to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Posse.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Marie Boynton’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.