By Jerry Vondas
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Copyright 2006 Tribune Review Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
As a volunteer firefighter and fire chief, Larry Boyle fought so many fires that the Salvation Army’s Sally Wagon often had a cup of coffee waiting for him.
“When I was a kid, I used to go with my Dad when the alarm was sounded,” said Boyle’s son, Lawrence E. Boyle, of East McKeesport. “He never missed an alarm.”
Lawrence J. Boyle Jr., 74, of North Versailles, a retired employee of Allegheny County Emergency Services, died Thursday, July 6, 2006, at home.
Mr. Boyle’s resume read like a who’s who in emergency management. He was a fire instructor, arson investigator and hazardous materials expert.
His expertise led to positions as a member of the Allegheny County Hazardous Materials Program and as recording secretary for the Association of Pennsylvania Arson Investigators.
“Once Dad received his associate degree in fire science from (the Community College of Allegheny County), he began teaching classes in firefighting fundamentals at Penn State University,” his son said.
“At first, they offered him one classroom, but it wasn’t long before Dad was teaching in one of the university’s larger auditoriums to accommodate the number of firefighters that enrolled in his class,” he added.
Raised in Wilkinsburg, Larry Boyle was one of six children of Lawrence J. Sr. and Marie Hazen Boyle.
In 1949, he dropped out of Wilkinsburg High School, where he was a member of the football team, and joined the Air Force.
After his discharge in 1955, Mr. Boyle, while working in a bakery during the day, received his General Equivalency Diploma and began attending evening classes in electrical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.
In 1956, he was introduced to Callie Miller, who, at the time, was employed by Bell Telephone in the McKeesport office.
“I really wasn’t interested in him at first,” she recalled.
“He soon grew on me. And although Larry had a stentorian voice, I found him to be a gentle, loyal and loving husband. I never had any doubts about his love for me.”
Mrs. Boyle said her husband’s dedication to public safety was foremost in his life
“He was the first trained paramedic in North Versailles, serving with Park Terrace (Volunteer Fire Department),” she said.
Once Mr. Boyle received his associate degree, he began his rounds of area volunteer fire departments, teaching the fundamentals of firefighting.
“Although I had gone with Dad on fires when I was a boy, I was 19 years old when I joined the Sunset-Central (Volunteer Fire Department) in North Versailles,” his son said. “Dad was an officer and instructor.
“As a kid, we did all the things that a son and father do,” he added. “He took me to ball games. But once I joined the fire department, it was strictly business. He was really tough on me.”
Mr. Boyle is survived by his wife, Callie Miller Boyle; son, Lawrence E. Boyle, of East McKeesport; granddaughter, Rian Alyse; brothers, Paul W. Boyle Sr., of Plum, and Dennis T. Boyle, of Denver; and sisters, Sally Froehlich, of White Oak, Judi Dryburgh, of Bethel Park, and Gertrude “Trudy” Lamanna, of Penn Hills.
Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the Forgie-Snyder Funeral Home, 1032 Broadway, East McKeesport, where services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday with the Rev. Richard J. Krug officiating.