Obituaries: Sarah Reed Boynton

Sarah Reed Boynton, daughter of a Decatur pioneer and descendant of the Tlingit chief Shakes, died Dec. 3 at Island Hospital in Anacortes. She was 97.

Sarah was born on Oct. 12, 1906 in Seattle because her father, the pioneer boat builder of Decatur and joint owner of Reed Brothers Shipyard, was in Seattle working at that time. She spent her childhood at the Decatur shipyard, even commuting for high school in Anacortes, each week boarding the mailboat in Davis Bay.

She was the daughter of Joseph Miller Reed and Ella Moore of Olga. On her father’s side, she was a descendant of Chief Shakes of Wrangle, Alaska; on her mother’s side, a descendant of Chief Seattle’s first wife.

She had an interesting life. After her marriage to Stanley K. Boynton, affectionately known as “Pete” Boynton, she lived in Anacortes. She worked for many years as a topper for Fisherman’s Pack, canning salmon. She did china painting, lovely quilting and was a member of the Anacortes Quilting Club. She also was a button collector, an accomplished grandmother and, according to her family, the best cookie maker.

She was a cherished member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, where a memorial service will be held on Saturday, Dec. 13, 1 p.m.

The Boyntons had two daughters, Vivian Dibble and Virginia Perkins. Vivian is deceased, but Virginia took loving care of her mother for the last few years in her own home and then the convalescent center. Sarah always had friends and relatives to visit her because she was such a loving person. She will be missed.

Vivian and Art Dibble’s children — Stanley Kay, Ken, Kerry, Kim, Krystal and Karla; and Virginia and Reeve Perkins’ children — Rod, Steve and David — are the grandchildren left to mourn their grandmother. They and her great-grandchildren were the blessings of her life, as were her beloved brother, Ray “Skip” Reed, who was lost in the Gulf of Alaska in 1956; and her dear sister, Marjorie Klingman of Anacortes. There are many more area relatives and friends too numerous to mention feeling the loss of this woman so fine in spirit and in love. Many people on Decatur, Lopez and Orcas are friends of Sarah’s.

In addition to being part of the church and Anacortes community, she was always close to other islanders who had known her as a young person and who, like her, had settled in Anacortes.

— Submitted by Karen Lamb, cousin; and Marjorie Klingman, sister of Sarah Reed Boynton.

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