Mercedes "Dolly" Cecelia Boyne

Mercedes Cecelia "Dolly" Boyne, age 99, of La Grande died Thursday, October 20, 2008 at her home. A Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November3, 2008 at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church. Burial will be at the Mission Hills Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.

Mrs. Boyne was born October 18, 1909, in Lehigh, Iowa to William Thomas Suer and Estella Viola Counley Suer. When her mother died in 1919 Mercedes, her older sister, Mary Isabelle and her younger sister, DeMeris, each went to live with relatives in Lehigh. Her father continued to work in the coal and gypsum mines to support his daughters.

Mrs. Boyne attended Fort Dodge, Iowa High School and Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She received her R.N. Certification January 6, 1931. After graduation from nursing school, she married Thomas W. Boyne February 17, 1931 in Council Bluffs. He preceded her in death on December 9, 1969. She did most of her nursing in orthopedics until her retirement in 1974.

In 1962 Mrs. Boyne moved to the San Fernando Valley in California where she worked at Holy Cross Hospital and Valley Presbyterian Hospital. She moved to La Grande in 1998 to be near family. Mrs. Boyne was an accomplished seamstress and knitter. She donated hundreds of caps to "Caps For Kids", an organization that helps needy children worldwide. While living in La Grande she used donated yarn to knit caps and at Christmas time gave them to the "Giving Tree" at Globe Furniture.

Her family and friends remember her as a loving mother and grandmother, always willing to help those in need, and devoted to her Catholic faith. She was a member of Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church.

Survivors include her daughter and son-in-law, Kay and Jere McCarthy of La Grande; daughter, Mary L. Boyne of Santa Clarita, California; five grandchildren; eleven great grandchildren; seven nephews and two nieces. Her two sisters preceded her in death.

Those who wish may make contributions in memory of Mrs. Boyne to "The Universal Living Rosary Association", P.O. Box 13031, Dickinson, Texas 77539.

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