Dad left us after struggling with several health issues in the recent years, which ultimately became too much for him to overcome. He was born in West Frankfort, Illinois to the late James and Leona Boal. He was the third of four sons, the late Charles (Marilyn.d), James (Theda .d) and Roger (Gail)
After moving to Michigan as a young child, Dad made his home on Loon Lake in Drayton Plains (Waterford) Michigan for over 30 years, where he became a father to Kirk (Michelle), Tim (Dana), Scott, Tracy and Nicole. He later became a Grandfather to Krystal, Troy, Travis, Madi, twins Trevor (the boy) Christina (the girl) Anna, Dustin and Skyler(.d), also great grandfather to Makale and Ava. In 2006, He moved to Apache Junction Arizona to enjoy his retirement, the weather and follow in his family’s footsteps. In 2017, he met Susan and they were married in 2024. We are grateful for the care Susan provided in his last years.
Dad made his living mostly as a Mechanic, but that is a much too generic description of the true talent he had to “make things work”. Dad was mostly a car guy, but also a boat, snowmobile, motorcycle, anything with a motor guy. He had the skill and ability to engineer things in his head then bolt, weld or fabricate with his hands some kind of working end product. He sure made the most of this talent in the years he was here, whether it was race cars, boats, trucks, 4×4 cars, street cars or one off “tractors”, It would almost be impossible to count the number of “vehicles” that passed (or didn’t) through his hands or the excuses he could fabricate on why he needed each one and the accompanying structure required to store it.
Dad wasn’t always known for his sensitivity and tact, but if you went beyond the stubbornness and directness, you would find a caring, hard working man who you could count on to help when you needed it, and he loved those around him in his own way. Dad’s legacy will live on not only in the vehicles he left behind, but also his traits, some of which can be found in all his children, for better or worse. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention his love for his dogs and cats over the years. Although Dad would not likely readily admit to this, adopting feral cats that would randomly show up gave it away, as well as Susan’s 4 legged “birthday presents”, even if it wasn’t her birthday.
Please join us for a graveside service at the Mountain View Cemetery, 7900 E. Main St, Mesa AZ, 85207 on April 4th, 2025 at 3 pm, followed by a Celebration of Life at 4170 N. Ironwood immediately following. Food will be provided.
It’s our intention to have our Dad take one last ride in his cars. If you have a classic of some sort please join us at the Ironwood address by 1:30 pm on April 4th 2025 for a procession to the cemetery.
Arrangements were cared for by Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery 7900 E Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85207 (480) 832-2850