Obituary of Louis Boeri

Louis P. Boeri, veteran, manager, and family man, passed away peacefully on Wednesday morning, July 5, 2017 surrounded by his family. Louis, who was 86 years old, was born in the family residence in Cambridge in 1930. He was one of 7 children born to Luigi and Genoveffa (Giovannani) Boeri. Growing up in Cambridge, he was a graduate of St. John’s High School, where he was introduced to the lovely young woman, Claire Beauchemin, a student at Our Lady of Pity. They had their first official date on Christmas night of 1948 at the Boston Opera House’s performance of “The Student Prince”. They went to the prom together and continued dating after high school. Louis enlisted in the Navy in 1950 during the Korean war. Having attained the rank of Fire Control Technician Third Class, he proudly spent three and a half years as a crew member of the U.S.S. Tarawa CVA-40, the “Terrible T”. The Tarawa was an Essex Class aircraft carrier and served as part of the United States 6th and 2nd Fleets. During his time aboard ship, Louis participated in a Mediterranean cruise (1951-52) which visited ports in France, Algeria, Italy, Crete, Turkey, Greece, Sardinia, and Gibraltar. Leaving from Norfolk, he also took part in the 1953-54 world cruise. In addition to the Mediterranean, the Tarawa passed through the Suez Canal and visited India, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Louis made many lasting friendships with his fellow crewmates and enjoyed attending many Tarawa reunions. He was the recipient of the Korean Service Medal, United Nations Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Medal, China Service Medal, and Navy Occupation Medal. During a leave in 1952, he returned to Cambridge to marry his sweetheart, Claire. After the war, Louis took a position as a repairman for New England Telephone, spending 35 years with the phone company advancing from repairman to manager to salesman. His outgoing, friendly persona and great sense of humor made him well liked by coworkers and customers alike. Louis loved spending time with his family, especially during the many camping trips around the country. He was proud to say that he had visited all 50 states and had seen most of America’s natural and manmade marvels. For the past 32 years, he and Claire spent much time at their cottage on Crescent Lake in Raymond, Maine. It was a place where family would gather, enjoy the outdoors, and continue to foster close ties. Always up for debate, Lou fancied himself a boater and fisherman. Although the vast number of lures hanging from tree branches during his outings were a testament to his fishing prowess, his green thumb was second to none, resulting in lush gardens and bountiful harvests. His other interests included painting, watching old movies, reading, and frequenting yard sales. He enjoyed keeping in touch with four generations of family, welcoming new arrivals, attending weddings and recognizing accomplishments. He will be remembered for his devotion to his family, his humor, and the kindness that he shared freely with all those who came into his life. Louis was the beloved husband of 65 years of Claire (Beauchemin) Boeri. He was the father of Robert Boeri & his wife Susan of Topsfield, Denise Kinch & her husband Paul of Groveland, and Anita Stewart & her husband Jack of New Hope, PA. He was the brother of Eleanor Dunne of Somerville, Eileen Martino of Hanover, the late Mary Bonaccorso, Frances Durante, Victor and John Boeri. Louis was the proud grandfather of Dr. Ashley Deutsch & her husband Adam, Alex Boeri, Michael Stewart & his wife Melissa, Kristina, Daniel, and Elizabeth Kinch and great grandfather of Hannah Deutsch. A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Malachy Church, 99 Bedford St., Burlington on Wednesday, July 12 at 10 a.m. A burial will follow at Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Louis’s name may be made to the Little Sisters of the Poor, 186 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02143-1507 or www.littlesistersofthepoorboston.org. Good morning, I never thought that I would be here. I thought that my dad would be here forever and it never crossed my mind that he wouldn’t be. Last Wednesday I lost one of my best friends, one that I had for 63 years. And one that many of you had for a lifetime also. I would like to talk today about what my dad taught me growing up, something that I am still doing. First of all, he taught me to have a sense of humor. He had a sense of humor right from the start. He couldn’t help it, his life started out that way. After he was born, his godparents took him to Saint John’s in Cambridge to be baptized. He went out the door Edward Allan Boeri and came back in the door Louis Peter Boeri Jr. Junior. There was no Louis Peter Boeri Senior. No one really knows how this happened, although I suspect the fact that his godparents were named Louisa and Peter may have had something to do with it. He loved a good joke and we spent many hours watching comedies at the two for one-dollar movies in Winchester. I am happy to say that he passed this on to his children, his grandchildren, and most recently to his great granddaughter. One of the last things he saw before leaving us was his great granddaughter Hannah laughing that belly laugh of hers while being tickled. It made him laugh. He taught me to be fearless, to dive right in to whatever challenge confronted me. I have several examples of how he did this. I had to become and engineer and a mechanic to survive high school and college. Other kids might have Mustangs or Camaros or Corvettes. Not me. Dad had an affinity for cars manufactured by AMC. But not just any car. He was attracted to those cars that no one in their right mind would buy. He loved Gremlins and Hornets. If he could have found a cheap Pacer, he would have had that too. He even had a god awful Renault that was sold by AMC dealers, a French car pretending to be reliable. The younger members of the family will have to look these cars up. They were horribly ugly, drove like tanks and were legendary for their unreliability. But he loved them and eventually I ended up with several of them. I spent many hours trying to keep them running. At one point, needing a second car, he gave me a green hornet – really, a green hornet. I spent many winter days driving to work in it, hunched forward because some designer thought that sitting at a 120-degree angle was a good idea. After a while I actually tried to give it away at a Yankee swap and no one would take it. As my brother in law Jack said, we all rejoiced when he bought his first Toyota. But these cars taught me to not be afraid to take anything apart and mickey mouse it back together. He taught me about construction and building things. Susan will attest to this. When you build a new room, most people will buy plasterboard in 4 by 8 sheets to put up the walls. Not dad. He turned a porch at our Hillcrest Road home in Burlington into a family room. He had collected hundreds of plasterboard pieces in sizes ranging from a few square inches to a few square feet. That room must have two hundred pieces of plasterboard screwed to the studs. It was a puzzle. I am sure that we lost money in the tape used to seal the joints. I also remember spending a great part of my youth hammering on bent nails to straighten them out. Dad never could abide wasting a good bent nail. Electronics. He and therefore I became experts at taking electronics apart. His love of yard sales meant that he could fill his basement with electronics, which he always intended to fix. Somehow it never happened. Dad believed that there was no joy in owning one working boom box. Dad would have six. Each one would have only one working part. One had a working radio, one a working cassette player, one a working CD player, one a working turntable. Never all in the same box. I spent hours trying to combine them all into one, or at least trying to talk him into buying a single functioning system. He taught me and my son Alex to work on computers. I actually started a home computer repair business specializing in the older generation as clients. I figured that if I could help my dad, I could help anyone. In the words of my son-in-law Adam, he never saw a computer virus that he wouldn’t accept. I spent years trying to stop him from clicking on every pop up that appeared. To absolutely no avail. Five minutes after we would leave his house, computer humming along, it would be almost beyond repair because he had clicked on multiple unsolicited emails. Never did cure him of that. He taught me about marine safety. Dad never could pass up a deal on a good boat. Okay, well not ever really a good boat. Most of them were either sinking or on their way to sinking when he bought them. But they were really good deals. The last one he bought, he bought sight unseen. It was covered and he never bothered to look under the cover. But he had an ad for the boat which was built in 1965. It had so many holes in the aluminum that it wouldn’t even hold rainwater. But what a deal. The owner threw in about $70 dollars worth of 1965 life jackets for free. He also taught me to be an environmentalist. From the time I was six years old, we camped all around the country. He taught me to love the outdoors. I have been in every state in the country except Alaska, largely due to his and my moms curiosity about what was over the next hill. I am a fisheries biologist largely due to his introducing me to fishing. I honestly don’t ever remember catching many fish with my dad as he was renowned for the number of fishing rigs and lures that he decorated the trees around him with. I know that there are people out there who stocked whole tackle boxes by following him around on his adventures. I believe that complete strangers would call him up ask where and when he was going to fish next. But his sense of humor came through here too. One memorable trip to Plum Island in the early seventies resulted in him catching a small cod from the beach, not a common occurrence. He laid the fish on the sand and went back to fishing. After a while an older gentleman came strolling down the beach, stopped at the fish, looked at my dad, pointed to the ocean and asked if he had caught that in there. My dad went down in a heap, holding his sides laughing while he managed to croak out that “No, we just brought him down to visit family.” He managed to pass his fishing abilities on not only to me but to Alex, Michael, and Ashley too. But the most important thing that he taught me was family and friends. Family was the most important part of his life. His devotion to my mom, his wife of 65 years was paramount. She was always foremost in his thoughts, his best friend and confidant. They enjoyed life and travelled the world together. His children, grandchildren, and great granddaughter were central to his life. He was so proud of you all. He never stopped talking about Ashley’s becoming a doctor, Alex starting an oyster farm, Michael’s new teaching career, Adam’s graduation from law school and hanging his own shingle, and Melissa’s brilliant writing career. He was always there for us. We all knew without a doubt that we could depend on him, ask him for any kind of help or counsel, and he would be there. And then his brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. He so enjoyed you all. He was constantly bragging about all of your accomplishments. Some of my fondest memories are of growing up around all of you. Auntie Mary standing over a giant pot of spaghetti sauce feeding the family. Auntie Fran’s ready smile, great cooking, and quiet demeanor. Uncle Johnnie’s pioneering family camping and the wonderful smell of his pipe filling the house. Uncle Victor’s ever present half chewed cigar and his garden in the back yard. The treasures that we still have in Auntie Eileen and Eleanor, who he was in constant contact with. And over two hundred nieces and nephews. He loved you all. And he passed that on to me. Dad, I love you and I miss you terribly. Thanks for everything that you taught me. You helped make me who I am today. We all miss you and know that you will keep helping to guide us throughout our lives and urging us to continue learning. Thank you all for coming today, it means a lot to me and my family.