Whitefish couple celebrates 50th anniversary with foreign exchange students

Ray and Jerrie Boksich celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last week at the Moose Lodge in Whitefish, alongside friends, family and nine of their 25 former foreign exchange students.  

Over the years, the Boksichs have been extremely involved with many aspects of the Whitefish community including but not limited to the Winter Carnival, Meals on Wheels, Shepherd's Hand, city council, the school board, and the American Field Service, an organization centered around connecting foreign exchange students with host families.  

The Boksichs always knew that they were interested in hosting a foreign exchange student after being exposed to different cultures. Originally, they planned on waiting until their own two children, Merika and Garth, were high school aged to bring another student in their home. This plan changed when they got a call from the American Field Service about an exchange student from Hong Kong in the late 1980s.  

“Traveling the world was not really something that was going to happen for us at this point in our lives, so we thought, ‘Well, this is a great way to bring the world to our kids and make them a little more globally aware,’” Ray said.  

They both appreciated the opportunity to expose not only their own children but all of the students at Whitefish High School to different cultures. 

“We wanted the high school kids to see that our world is a much bigger place than just Whitefish,” Jerrie said. 

The Boksichs always encouraged the students that they were hosting to get involved in the high school and community. They knew that it would be hard for them to work their way into a group without doing extracurricular activities.  

“It has had a really big global impact on the local people,” Ray said when referring to the strong relationships that have lasted between locals and exchange students.  

The Boksichs have stayed in close contact with almost every student that they have hosted. 

“We refer to them as our children,” Jerrie said.  

Their journey with hosting students spanned from 1989 to 2016, so the majority of their students never crossed paths. It had been a lifelong dream of the Boksichs to introduce all the students to each other. 

When a student from Sweden, Fredrik Persson, returned to Whitefish to celebrate his birthday in the summer of 2024, Ray said to him, “When I win the lottery, the first thing I am going to spend it on is getting all of you students together.”  

Persson replied to Ray with, “Why wait?” 

The planning for their 50th anniversary then began. Many of their students from all over the years were invited to celebrate. Nine of their past students, all from different countries, were able to attend the celebration.  

The Boksichs are extremely proud to speak of each of their students' accomplishments in their individual lives. They have all gone on to have successful careers and start families of their own. One of them, Filipe Magalhaes of Portugal, proposed to his now fiancé on Big Mountain after the party.  

The lessons learned from hosting the students have been impactful. Ray said he learned that “universally, we are all the same,” and Jerrie said she learned that “love is universal.”  

Jerrie and Ray remain involved in the community of Whitefish and encourage others to do the same. 

Jerrie is currently on her third term of the school board and is on the board of the Alpine Theater Project. Ray’s biggest community commitment is currently being on the board of the Dog Park. 

“When you volunteer, you get back as much as you give” Jerrie said.  

“Become involved in the community in some aspect,” Ray added.