James George Boylan

BOYLAN, James (Jim) George, of Reston and McLean, VA, passed away peacefully at his home in Reston, VA, on April 23, 2021, after a long illness. He was born on December 15,1937, in Queens, New York, the fifth of eight children born to Scottish born Eleanor Lorraine Russell Boylan, and Irish born Leo Patrick Boylan. The family soon settled in Bay Shore, Long Island, NY, and endured the remaining hardships of the Great Depression and then WW II. Like many folks, the family fished, raised chickens, cultivated a vegetable garden, and sold or bartered any surplus. Jim is survived by his wife of 20 years, Jeanne B. Boylan, his daughter, Kaithlin Boylan and granddaughter, Leah Kirby of Gainesville, VA, two stepchildren, Todd Stearns and Tracey Stearns of Las Vegas, NV, his former wife Virginia Walker Boylan of Ft. Myers, FL, his sister Eleanor Vanecek of Reedville, VA, two brothers, Brian Boylan of Key Largo, FL, and Donald Boylan of Islip, NY, and twelve nieces and nephews and their families, including Roxanne Walker of Winchester, VA, whom he helped to raise. He was preceded in death by his daughter Deirdre, his sister Kathleen, and three brothers, Leo, Jack, and Gene. When he was eleven years old, Jim contracted polio prior to the creation of the polio vaccine. Hospitalized for nine months with other boys from the area, he experienced, not only the pain of the disease, the loss of the use of his legs, and the long separation from his family, but also the untimely deaths of some childhood friends. Against odds, he recovered full use of his legs, and graduated from St. John’s Preparatory School in Brooklyn. He graduated in 1959 from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a BA degree in English Literature and Humanities. He worked construction jobs, flipped hamburgers, drove a delivery truck, and served as Resident Advisor, to put himself through Marquette. He was no stranger to hard work and responsibility. Jim loved most sports, especially basketball, baseball, and football. With a keen memory, he could discuss players, game plays, and statistics in detail. When the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space, Jim realized it was a great scientific achievement, but also a threat to our national security. In response to the Soviet space program, the U.S. Government established intense immersion graduate studies (“Institute of Far East and Russian Studies”), at a handful of U.S. Universities, including the University of Washington in Seattle. Jim became an Associate Professor there, and graduated in 1961, with a MS degree in Soviet Government and Russian language. Upon graduation, Jim was hired by the U.S. Government and moved to Northern Virginia, and while working at the Defense Department, Jim attended George Washington University Law School at night, graduating with a JD in 1967. Afterward, he served as a National Security General Counsel. In 1971, he established his private law practice in McLean, and started Cardinal Title Company. Jim’s former law partner, Timothy P. Morahan, now conducts both businesses from the original location in McLean. Jim possessed great intellect, integrity, fairness, and a really good sense of humor. He often said that most problems could be solved with common sense. In 2016, he had successful open heart surgery. Before his retirement and illness, he was active in the McLean Rotary Club, the St. Luke’s Church Knights of Columbus, and actively served on the McLean Planning Committee, the McLean Revitalization Committee, and the McLean Office Square Condominium Association. A Visitation for family and friends will be held 5-8PM at Murphy Funeral Home, 1102 Broad St., Falls Church, VA on Sunday, May 9, 2021, (703) 533-0341. A Memorial Service will be held at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 1900 Lawyers Rd., Reston, VA on Monday, May 10, 2021 at 11AM, (703) 860-6151.