Betty G. Boyer

Betty G. Boyer, of Thomson, formerly of Mt. Carroll, passed away Wednesday, November 1. Funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, November 7, at the Law Jones Funeral Home in Mt. Carroll. Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday, November 6, at the funeral home, as well as one hour prior to the service on Tuesday. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Betty was born August 7, 1936, daughter of Harold and Minnie (Galitz) Holm. She attended Mt. Carroll High School, where she met the love of her life, Eugene Boyer. Their young love was strong, and after a year of dating they married. The wedding was in Iowa, because Gene was too young to get married in Illinois. It was a marriage made to last. Together, Betty and Gene celebrated 70 years of marriage, and raised three children.

After marriage Betty and Gene moved around for a time, before returning to Mt. Carroll. In a few short years they would buy a small farm, which they would own and operate for the next 50 years. Betty always helped with chores on the farm; bailing, raking, mowing, whatever needed to be done. She was an active and strong mom, who would play basketball and even wrestle with her kids. Betty had a streak of daredevil in her, and loved to ride motorcycles, even teaching her daughter how to ride. She loved taking bike and snowmobile trips with her family.

Betty was a dedicated volunteer sheriff’s deputy for 40 years, along with her husband. Later in life her and Gene ran the Thomson Causeway Campground, their home away from home. She always put others before herself. Family always came first to Betty. She was a proud mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who would do anything for her family. She made the best baked beans, and was jokingly barred from family holidays unless she brought some. Her kind heart lives on in those she loved most.

Betty will be dearly missed by her loving husband, Francis Eugene Boyer of Thomson; her children, Charles Boyer of Chadwick, IL, and Bobbi (Mike) Hockman of Chadwick; six grandchildren, Heather (Andrew) Harp of Kentucky, Melissa (Craig) Zuidema of Morrison, IL, Clarence III (Lynn) Meiners of Texas, Brian (Amber) Boyer of Savanna, Craig Murray of Fulton, IL, and Shawn (Jessica) Murray of Pearl City, IL; 11 great-grandchildren; two brothers, Bobby Holm of Indiana, and Ronald Holm of Mt. Carroll; and many nieces and nephews. Betty is preceded in death by her parents, Harold and Minnie; her brother, Richard and his wife Shirely; her sister-in-laws, Wanda and Barbara; and her parents-in-laws, Allen and Wynetta.