Mr. Raymond John Boyle

Raymond John Boyle

The beginning…

Born – First son to Maureen and Joseph Boyle on April 29, 1938, London England.

Ray grew up with his younger brother Vincent. Ray Loved getting away to explore London when he could, playing with friends, spending summers in Ireland with his grandparents, learning rural life on the farm. Attending Catholic school, church and dodging bombs, was a staple of their urban London life in Shepard’s Bush. Ray was not a fan of school or church, but rather a spiritual seeker, hungry for knowledge and experience. He would spend a lifetime reading and researching through book after book, gathering knowledge from wherever he could. He was like a walking encyclopedia and quite good at trivia because of it.

In order to get out on his own Ray joined the army at 17, spending 3 years in service before buying his way out, but still remaining a reserve. Upon military release, Ray had various jobs, working for Rolls Royce, Oxygen Air, Lee Electric, and Pinewood Studios, leading him into a 45-year career in the film and television industry. Ray’s film career was epic, allowing him to travel all over Europe and North America working with some of the biggest names in the business. To this day, he still has the personally signed picture of Alfred Hitchcock from the movie “Frenzy” hanging in his office.

Ray was a well-respected member of I.A.T.S.E locals 891, 873 and 667. Lovingly known as the Guvnor. He was often known for wearing a shirt and tie to work, and being a true gentleman. Ray was well known for his craft, being a well sought after Gaffer and DOP. He ran a tight crew, having fun, and working hard. He was a mentor to many, a patient teacher, and did not suffer fools lightly. Safety was always Ray’s number one priority. He was extremely creative, and had the ability to solve complex production issues. Designing and creating one of kind lighting rigs that went on to be used by other productions. Ray always saw the beauty in shadow and light.

When he retired from his film career in 2003, He joined funeral service at the encouragement of his daughter Claire. Ray joined the SCI family at the Vancouver Care Centre as a funeral attendant. Ray loved working in funeral service. Driving limos and coaches getting to know the families. Listening to people’s stories was his favorite. Ray gave SCI 15 years of great service, making some good friends along the way. Unfortunately, due to the onset of dementia Ray made his final retirement in 2019.

BACK TO EARLIER DAYS… Ray got married to a woman named Mary. Mary and Ray had two children, Stephen and Lynette. As life would have it, their relationship didn’t last and with it came all the ups and downs of dissolving a marriage. The good news is they both went on to meeting the right person.

Ray met and fell in love with Janet - the love of his life, his rock, partner in crime, voice of reason, life coordinator and mother to their two children Denise and Claire.

Janet and Ray would go on to raise their family moving from England and immigrating to Toronto, Canada in 1973, reuniting with his brother Vincent and his family. They landed in Etobicoke, where they spent a couple of years before moving to Nobleton. Nobleton was a great town to raise their family. They lived in a couple of different houses, made lifelong friends, experienced all the great things small town living had to offer. They stayed in Nobleton for a number of years before following a family friend to Thornhill. Life moved on, kids grew up making their way in the world, January 1993, Claire packed up and moved to Vancouver B.C.. Ray and Jan would follow later that year. Denise and Edan would follow in 1997. Once again all united. Ray and Jan continued their adventures moving from the lower mainland to buying a house in Gibson’s B.C. after experiencing a great camping trip. They spent five good years in Gibsons where dad built the most beautiful garden, enjoying the beauty of the Sunshine Coast. Eventually, they moved back to the Lower Mainland choosing a house in Burnaby to which they gave the same TLC they gave to every house they ever lived in. This was the house where Sophia would spend her early years hanging out with Nanny and Grandpa. Grandpa would take her and Ginger cat for chair rides around the house, and spend all kinds of time building block towers just for her to knock down. His other two grandchildren, Paul and Grace, didn’t have the same opportunity to know their Grandfather, but Ray loved them and cherished the few times he got to hold them as babies. Janet would keep him up to date on their lives via social media and communication from their mom Sue.

A couple of years after Sophia was born, Ray and Jan figured it was a good time for downsizing and moved into the suite of Ari and Claire’s new home in Port Coquitlam. This is where they have remained, and in true Ray and Janet style, they have put their Midas touch on this home too.

The adventurer…

From when Ray was a youngster, and well into his later years, Ray loved travel and adventure. He knew London and Ireland Like the back of his hand. He travelled all over Europe, North America and the Caribbean.

Sometimes work took him to these far off places, and other times it was family travel. Ray was always the guy to drive and play tour guide, giving out information on all the things you did and saw. Ray was never one to shy away from adventure. He tried everything from tobogganing, snowmobiling, skiing, camping, hiking, cycling, canoeing, kayaking, but he was really in his element when it came to water. Ray was an avid swimmer, played underwater polo, ice float racing with his brother, white water rafting and last but not least, scuba diving. Ray was an extremely talented scuba diver. It was a skill he used working in film, and was one of the few people in the industry that possessed these abilities. He did all kinds of diving, ice diving, cave diving, extreme depths, shipwrecks, warm water, cold water, fresh water, salt water. He dove with all kinds of marine life, loving everything he saw and learned.

Ray was just an all-round talented guy, he loved cultivating beautiful gardens, growing vegetables flowers, and making little nooks to contemplate life in. He loved drawing and painting, building and fixing. Ray was always creating something; he even had a nametag that read, “Hi I’m Ray, I do things”. Ray always had a way of putting his unique touch on whatever he did, and when he built something, it lasted.

Family, Friends and other things he loved….

Ray was a loyal, trustworthy, dependable, hardworking, loving, funny and charming man. He worked hard making sure his family had everything they needed, often having to miss out on different events due to long work hours. He was a great dad, teaching his kids how to swim, ride bikes, camp, drive, use tools, scuba dive and generally be good people. Unfortunate circumstances hindered Ray from knowing Stephen and Lynn as children, however, Ray was happy to be given a chance at building a relationship with Stephen from a young adult. The opportunity to get to know him via a number of trips between Canada and England has spanned a number of decades.

Ray loved his brother Vincent. The two brothers and their incredible wives Janet and Mary, made sure the two Boyle families spent quality time together creating a lifetime of memories for us cousins.

When Ray made friends, they were usually lifelong, with a few special people that became just like family. Sharon, Rachel and Steve, a rare gift that blesses us to this day. Ray always enjoyed a good laugh and a joke. He had a quick wit and a great sense of humor. Ray possessed a James Bond like charm calling all the ladies “Love”. It was a good thing Janet is a strong, self-assured woman, because all the ladies loved Ray, but Ray had one true love, his darling Janet.

Some of the other well-known facts about Ray: a lover of “Footy”, specifically, English premier league team, Liverpool. And when England lost to Italy in the European cup, he didn’t talk to Ari for a week. He enjoyed hitting golf balls with his friend Don, a game they liked to call “Whack Fuck”, I’m pretty sure it implied they weren’t very good at it. He enjoyed going to the pool every morning with his buddies which often followed with tea and toast at their local café. Ray loved enjoying a Guinness or two… sometimes more. Red wine with dinner and an occasional scotch. He wasn’t a complicated man, but enjoyed all the great stuff that one could experience with family, friends, food and drink.

In Summary…

This world couldn’t have asked for a better man. His thirst for knowledge and experience drove him to fill his 84 years with as much as he possibly could, and he did it! He did it with style, grace, loyalty, humility and compassion. He would always say, “If you’re going to do a job, do it right...”And Ray did it right.

This ending quote is from a Journal entry he made on the last day of a dive job he did in the Bahamas, “OPERATION RALEIGH”. It is an appropriate way to sum up Ray’s incredible journey:

“The Whole adventure is over and is now history. Thank you whomsoever guides and controls my destiny. I HAD A GREAT TIME!”

-RAY BOYLE