Longtime Flathead Valley educator, school administrator and coach Gene Boyle, whose high fives and hugs endeared him to generations of students, died Monday morning, less than a week shy of his 74th birthday.

Boyle was diagnosed with dementia in 2010 and had resided at Hidden Meadow Memory Care near Columbia Falls for the past nine months. He passed peacefully in his sleep about 4 a.m. Monday, his daughter, Brenda Boone, said.

The Boyle family plans to hold a funeral Mass at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church and a memorial service at Flathead High School, both in early June. Arrangements are still being made.

The Gene Boyle Race to Remember, a 5K run/walk event to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s disease, is planned June 4 at Legends Field and will still take place, the family said.

Boyle retired in 2009 after 45 years in education, including 11 at St. Matthew’s School and 21 at Flathead High School. He worked with students from kindergarten through 12th grade, coached champions in football, basketball, track, baseball and softball, and organized nearly every kind of school event under the sun during his career.

He was a man who loved kids and was driven to help them become the best possible versions of themselves.

Flathead High School Principal Peter Fusaro recalled in an earlier Inter Lake interview how much he learned from Boyle. When Fusaro was hired as an assistant principal, Boyle took him under his wing.

“He was my mentor,” Fusaro said shortly before Boyle’s retirement in 2009. “The biggest thing he told me was to get out in the hall and take care of the kids. I have, and it’s worked out fairly well.”

Boyle lived by that rule. He spent part of every day visiting each classroom at St. Matthew’s during his time there, and showed an exuberant spirit by serenading students with “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” over the intercom nearly every morning.

High fives, thumbs up and hugs were ingrained in the St. Matthew’s culture.

“I think it’s important that you create a happy environment, a comfortable environment,” Boyle told the Inter Lake during his retirement interview. “I think that’s the one thing that I’ve tried to do everywhere I’ve been: create a happy environment for the kids.”

Boyle’s career began in 1964, a few months after he graduated from Carroll College. Immaculate Heart of Mary High School in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, needed a math and biology teacher who also could coach football, basketball and baseball. He always joked that the staff at his first job included “seven nuns and Gene Boyle,” and that he quickly honed his work ethic there.

During his six years at the Idaho school they won two state basketball championships and 32 straight football games.

In 1970 Boyle took a job as a math teacher and head boys’ basketball coach in Lewiston, Idaho. He liked the school but found he preferred the football field to the basketball court, so he began searching for a job as a football coach. Choteau had set a state track record and had an up-and-coming football team, so Boyle headed there and stayed three years.

After hearing legendary football coach Lou Holtz speak at a coaches’ clinic about setting goals, Boyle set his sights on becoming an AA school coach.

Three coaching jobs opened in fall 1976: Billings Senior, Missoula Hellgate and Flathead High. Boyle found himself among stiff competition for the position but got the Flathead job. He spent the next four years teaching math and serving as head football coach at Flathead. He brought stability to the football program, and by 1980 the Braves vied for a state title, losing to C.M. Russell High School.

Boyle had found his groove as a coach, but later that year then-Principal Bill Vogt urged him to apply for a job as assistant principal and activities director.

“He said, ‘Gene, if you would take this AD job and assistant principal job, you could help 1,700 kids. Coaching football, you help 35 or 40 kids,” Boyle recalled during his retirement interview.

The chance to help so many students proved too tempting for Boyle to pass up, and he held the administrative position for the next 16 years.

Boyle always credited his wife, Barb, for remaining unfailingly supportive during his career, especially through the long hours that coaching entails.

His next career opportunity turned up in 1998 when the Rev. Kevin O’Neill asked Boyle to take over as principal of St. Matthew’s School. Boyle was hesitant because he had spent his entire career with high school students. When St. Matthew’s agreed to let Boyle continue coaching Flathead softball and football, he accepted the offer.

Boyle eventually quit coaching at Flathead, but started coaching at St. Matthew’s when the school added seventh and eighth grades.

Last year Flathead High School dedicated the Bravettes’ home softball field to Boyle, noting that wherever the Bravettes play their home games the field will be known as Barb and Gene Boyle Field.

“When you talk about Flathead High School, you think of the spirit of Gene Boyle,” Flathead activities director Bryce Wilson said during the dedication ceremony that both Boyle and his wife attended in April 2015. “As a former player, that’s what I always think about when I think of Flathead. I think of the cheers that he led and the spirit that he provided the student body.”

Glacier High School activities director Mark Dennehy had equal praise for Boyle during the dedication ceremony.

“Gene is the epitome of what education is all about. He takes care of kids, coaches, and teachers. He’s very selfless,” Dennehy said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.