Ilene Craft Boger was born in Rockingham, North Carolina on March 24, 1935, and died at Green Valley Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina on January 4, 2021. She was preceded in death by her husband, William Jackson Boger (1916-2004), and is survived by her daughter Amy Boger Morris and husband Don, and daughter Mary Boger Denina and husband Ryan.
Mom was a person of great wit and even greater charm – she could work a room and sell you waterfront property in Kansas before you even knew what hit you. She carried herself confidently and expected her daughters to do the same, and always let us know that we were just as important as anyone else no matter where we were. Lipstick and full dress were required just to go to the mailbox and every interaction with another person had laughter in it somewhere.
She always put family first, working many jobs over the years to make sure that her daughters and husband had everything they needed. She excelled at everything she did, and received accolades at many of her places of employment ranging from fastest typist to highest sales quota to best customer service.
As a mother, she taught us to read and write and to devour the world around us so that we would engage in lifelong education both in school and in the world itself. She corrected our grammar, took us to the library every week to check out as many books as we could carry, and remained proud until her last breath of all we had accomplished in our educational and professional lives.
Mom loved to sing and to play piano, and became quite an accomplished jazz pianist in her later years. Her neighbors loved to hear her play – many letting her know that it was a highlight of their day. Even in the hospital, the nurses would comment on how she would sing along with whatever music she could hear, even if she was too weak to do much of anything else.
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, there will be no public funeral or memorial service. Burial will be private. Should you wish to honor our mother, we invite you to wear something hot pink, pour yourself a strong cup of coffee with lots of cream, listen to some Sinatra, and take a little time out of your day to charm a stranger.
The family would like to thank the staff at Green Valley Hospital in Greensboro for their thorough and compassionate care in Mom’s last weeks. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice that provides relief for Covid-19 victims.
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