William Porter Boyle ’41

William Porter Boyle ’41 of Black Mountain, N.C., and formerly of Decatur, Ga., died in Asheville on Dec. 14. Bill was born in Brazil to missionary parents and came to the U.S. when he was five years old. He grew up in Virginia and graduated from Davidson College, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and from Union Theological Seminary (Presbyterian) in Richmond, Va. After a four-year pastorate in Ashe County, N.C., he went to Japan with his family to serve as a missionary. Upon returning to the U.S., he became a pastoral counselor and a supervisor in clinical pastoral education. He was a diplomat in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. After retirement in 1993, he served as parish associate at North Decatur Presbyterian Church, which he called his “heart’s home church.” Loving the mountains, he and his wife moved to Black Mountain, N.C., where he happily spent his last four years. Bill was a man of integrity, had a subtle and caring sense of humor and a dry wit until the day he died, and was kind and considerate of everyone. He found his greatest joy in his family. He is survived by his devoted wife, Ella Banks Weathers Boyle, 214 Pine St., Black Mountain, N.C. 28711; and their four sons, William, Jr. ’68 (Linda), Jack (Susan), David (Ruth), and Don, and their children.