Delmer Boylan, 87

Delmer Reese Boylan, 87, died Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2003, at his home in Bruneau.

A private cremation was held and a memorial service will be held in Bruneau this spring.

Delmer was born in Republic, Kan., on March 21, 1916, to Clarence Earl Boylan and Margaret Mae Youngman. He had two younger brothers, Otto and Marvin. His father was a carpenter and building contractor, and moved from Kansas to Boulder, Colo., then to Sandpoint, Idaho, in 1926. The family moved to Harper, Ore., in 1928.

When Delmer was old enough to drive he drove a produce truck for Henry Fitchet. They carried freight from Ontario to Portland. Delmer spoke of a serious accident in the fog, involving a band of sheep near La Grande, Ore., (it was serious for the band of sheep). The trucking company was sold and now is known as May Trucking of Payette.

He graduated from Harper High School on May 22, 1934, and married Cleo Melissa Gale on June 29, 1934. They had four sons, Gale, Dean, Dick, LaVerne, and Cleo had a daughter from a previous marriage, Frankie Kime.

Wherever he worked he made lifelong friends, his family noted. He worked on the Beulah Dam Project, near Juntura, Ore. He also worked for a box factory in The Dalles, Ore. He became a journeyman carpenter, working for his father in McMinnville, Ore. When World War II broke out he worked at the Portland Ship Yards as a Finish Carpenter, and became a commuter, driving 40 miles each way.

The family moved to Harper, Ore., in 1946, where the children grew up and all but LaVerne graduating from Harper High School. He worked on many projects there including the gymnasium for the school. He also worked for the school as the custodian and bus driver. He never missed a game.

In 1957 they moved to Sacramento, Calif., where he worked as a carpenter and also got his real estate license. After 10 years they moved to Idaho where he and Cleo operated a bar and grill, first in Glenns Ferry, then in Horseshoe Bend.

In 1973 they moved to Boise and he went to work for the Idaho Fish and Game Department. He worked on many projects for the enhancement of fish in the State of Idaho.

He retired in 1981 and they built a home in Bruneau.

He may be remembered most for his idea (in retirement) for saving the salmon, his family said. He and former coworker Dick Woodworth developed a plan to have a pipeline built to convey the salmon smolt downstream to the Pacific Ocean. Neither now will live to see that dream come true, but maybe in the future when the "Boylan Pipeline" is built, millions of people will come to know the works of a "Dreamer," his family said.

He is survived by: his four sons, Gale Reese Boylan, of Eugene, Ore., Martin Dean Boylan, of Boise, Richard (Dick) Boylan of Ephrata, Wash., LaVerne A. Boylan, of Hermiston, Ore.; a brother, Marvin Boylan of Woodburn, Ore.; 13 grandchildren, and 22 great-grandchildren.

Delmer was preceded in death by: his wife, Cleo Melissa Boylan; step-daughter Frankie (Kime) Campbell of Bruneau; and his brother, Otto Boylan of W. Sacramento, Calif.