Flathead High School wants to name its new gymnasium after Gene Boyle, a longtime coach, dean of students and activities director at the school.

Flathead Activities Director Bryce Wilson said he formally submitted a request to the district this week for the school board’s consideration.

“We want to name the gym after Gene Boyle in recognition of his commitment and legacy at Flathead High School,” Wilson said.

Boyle worked at Flathead from 1976 to 1998, when he retired and became principal at St. Matthew’s Catholic School until 2009. He died in 2016.

Boyle’s name initially came up in the naming process of Rankin Elementary School and was a popular submission. A committee recommended naming the elementary gym after Boyle, but in the school board’s discussion, former trustee Frank Miller said Boyle’s name should be saved for consideration of Flathead’s new gym since his presence was well-known at the high school.

Since that time Wilson said the school community has held onto that idea.

Boyle made an impact in the lives of many students and educators, including Wilson.

“When I first came on the job he reached out to me,” Wilson said. “He was a great mentor.”

He recalled Boyle’s spirited “can-do” attitude, which he said extended throughout the school and wider community.

“He was just Flathead through and through,” Wilson said.

Gene’s brother, Tom Boyle of Washington, expressed his gratitude to Flathead and the Kalispell community for the gesture.

“I can assure you that outside of his family and his faith, nothing was more cherished by him than the students and teachers at Flathead High,” Tom Boyle wrote in an email to the Daily Inter Lake.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.