Frances Rolland Boly

Frances was home-birthed in Wichita, Kansas, the middle child of five daughters of Frank Leslie Hulse and Edith Grace (Mosley) Hulse. The family moved to Portland in 1937, fleeing hard economic times. Frances was a reluctant émigré at first; the uprooting came on the threshold of her senior year in high school. However, on the car trip west she was enchanted by the waterfalls cascading down the Gorge visible from the Old Columbia River Highway; and, once in the city, by the profusion of climbing roses on the utility poles. She made enough friends at Grant High School as a senior to be chosen as that school’s Rose Festival princess, and eventually, 1938 Queen of Rosaria. Nicknamed in the newspapers “The Dust Bowl Queen,” Frances began a lifetime association with the Festival – composed of equal parts loyalty and good-humored irony about her perennially reoccurring ‘royal’ status, even serving once as the emergency stand-in Grand Marshall for the Grand Floral parade.

After high school, Frances attended St. Helens Hall and Reed College while working at Willamette Iron and Steel. She met her husband, Elwyn, an artist, musician and real estate broker, on a blind date; they eloped to San Francisco and were married within a month. The couple reared six sons in their Alameda home. After Elwyn’s passing in 1970, Frances worked in various capacities in the front office at Madison High School until retirement.

Frances loved to garden; nothing pleased her more than wiling away a day puttering amid her lilacs, lilies and, of course, roses. She belonged to the Wilshire Garden Club and took a turn as its President. She traveled extensively, both out of an innate curiosity and to keep up with her youngest son’s career in the Foreign Service. She hiked around the region and beyond with a group of friends and like-minded outdoor enthusiasts. She volunteered for many years as a cook at the Albertina Kerr Center Restaurant. She was a longstanding member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.

Frances is survived and will be missed by her family, including her sons: Jeff (Linda), a retired attorney; Father Craig Boly, S.J., pastor of St. Ignatius Parish in Portland; Paul (Sarah), a retired high school principal; John (Linda), professor of English at Marquette University; Bill, a writer and retired high school teacher; and Richard (Wendy), retired from the Foreign Service, as well as ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Frances was pre-deceased by her parents and four sisters, Alice, Doris, Betty Jane and Marjorie.

Frances lived life to the fullest. She experienced its joys and disappointments with stoicism but not necessarily humility. Winston Churchill channeled her spirit when he said, “Of course, we are all worms. But I do believe I am a glowworm.”