Barbara Lynn Boyle

Bobbie was born on August 19, 1946, in Oakland, California, to Ruth Patterson Graham and Thomas Graham. Her beloved sister, Linda, was three years older. When Bobbie was nine, her family moved from Oakland to St. Louis, Missouri, where her father, an executive at Gerber Baby Foods, managed the company’s plastics plant. It was there that Bobbie’s Midwestern charm took root—her openness, honesty, and joyful nature became her lifelong trademarks.

A Bright Beginning

Bobbie graduated from Kirkwood High School in 1964. The following year, she embarked on her first great adventure—traveling to Florence, Italy, with her cousin Kathy Wyatt of Seattle to attend a year at Le Fleuron, a finishing school that became anything but finishing for Bobbie. For her, Florence marked a beginning. It ignited her lifelong love of travel, culture, and cuisine. At just eighteen, she sailed from New York to Europe, fearless and full of curiosity, setting the tone for a life defined by courage, exploration and wonder.

A Scholar and Explorer

Upon returning to the U.S., Bobbie attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she majored in French and graduated with distinction in 1969. After graduation, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to work for Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, a real estate development company. Boston, like much of her life, was an adventure—new city, new friends, new experiences. She found her way with characteristic independence and optimism, a theme that would echo through every chapter of her life story.

Family, Food, and Finding Joy

In 1970, Bobbie married Patrick Moran, a fellow Wisconsin graduate. After a year in Cambridge while Patrick completed graduate school at MIT, the couple returned to Marshfield, Wisconsin, to work in the family business, Graham Manufacturing.

In Marshfield, Bobbie raised her two children, Graham and Eileen, in a community rooted in Midwest values. A family cottage in the lakes region of northern Wisconsin provided Bobbie and her family extended time with grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles. Winters often took them to Colorado to ski, sparking a lifelong connection to the Rocky Mountains.

Even with young children, Bobbie’s spirit of adventure called to her. She spent six weeks studying French cuisine in Paris, deepening her appreciation for the art of food and the cultures behind it. That experience led her to create a popular cooking course in international cuisine through the University of Wisconsin Extension Program, where she shared her love of flavor, culture, and connection with her community.

Her passion for travel never waned—she journeyed through France, Italy, Switzerland, Thailand, England, Hawaii, Bermuda, the Caribbean, and beyond, collecting memories, friendships, and recipes along the way.

Her life was a symphony of travel, friendship, family, and love—a beautiful testament to living with an open heart. She will be remembered not only for her adventures but for the way she made the world feel lighter, warmer, and more connected.

Life Among the Mountains

Following her divorce in 1996, Bobbie made her home in Dillon, Colorado—a place where the mountains, music, and wide-open skies matched her expansive spirit. To her friends and visitors, she often said, “People come to Colorado for the winters but stay for the summers.” Bobbie did both. She skied, hiked, attended music festivals, and climbed several “fourteeners”—mountains over 14,000 feet high—always surrounded by friends. In fact, when anyone called her home and got the answering machine her message captured her philosophy perfectly: “Life’s a mountain, not a beach—and we’re on it.”

Her Colorado years were filled with friendship, laughter, and community. Among her many circles of friends, the “Chicks on Sticks” held a special place—seven women bound by skiing, travel, and deep friendship. Together they explored France, Santa Fe, New York City, Yarmouth, Maine and Sarasota, celebrating life at every turn.

A Love Story for the Ages

In December 2000, fate intervened. While visiting friends in Copper Mountain, Bobbie met the love of her life, Philip Boyle, a lawyer from Boston. What began as a dinner with mutual friends quickly became something more.

Their romance unfolded across mountains and coasts—Colorado to Boston, ski slopes to seaside towns. On August 19, 2002—coincidentally both of their birthdays—Phil proposed to Bobbie during a hike to Wheeler Lake in Colorado. She said yes, and together they began a beautiful new chapter in their lives.

They married in Boston in February 2003 and later made a second home on the shores of Casco Bay in Yarmouth, Maine, where they spent many joyful summers together and an occasional winter nor’easter that filled the yard with snow.

A Life in Motion and in Love

Tennis was Bobbie’s constant activity for over forty-five years. No matter where she lived; Wisconsin, Colorado, Boston, Maine, or Florida; she could always be found on the court, smiling, laughing, and competing with her signature enthusiasm. Tennis filled Bobbie’s life with activity and cherished friendships.

When diagnosed with cancer in March 2025, she had been playing tennis five days a week at The Meadows in Sarasota, still taking lessons, still improving, still loving every minute of the game.

Bobbie lived as she loved—deeply, joyfully, and without hesitation. Her laughter was infectious, her curiosity endless, and her kindness boundless. She made friends wherever she went, and her generous spirit left an imprint on everyone lucky enough to know her.

Home, Family, and Legacy

In 2015, Bobbie and Phil retired to Sarasota, Florida, where they built a life filled with friends, golf, tennis, and sunshine. Each summer they returned to Colorado and Seattle to visit their children and six grandchildren, who knew her lovingly as “BeBe.” She and Phil welcomed them all in the winter when they escaped the snow and rain of the west to immerse themselves in the warmth of the Florida sun.

She poured her heart into her family, cherishing every moment with her children and grandchildren:

Graham Moran (Elizabeth Flores) – children Andrew (11) and Rebecca (9), Sedalia, CO

Eileen Johnson (Graham) – children Graham (14) and Tate (12), Denver, CO

Colin Boyle (Lindsey) – children Yael (11) and Benjamin (8), Mercer Island, WA

She is also survived by her sister Linda (Graham) Clem of Colorado, Mark Clem (Amy) of Oregon and Beth Michael (Scott) of Colorado.

A celebration of Bobbie’s life is planned for early January in Sarasota. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to American Cancer Society.