SR2193LRB100 24024 ALS 43385 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Peggy Roche Boyle, who passed away on
4April 14, 2018 at the age of 73; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Peggy Boyle was born to Patrick and Kathleen
6Roche; one of four children, she grew up on the West Side in
7St. Thomas Aquinas parish; when she was four years old, her
8mother passed away; a few years later, her father married Grace
9Dorgan, and they had four more children; when she was 13, she
10began her long and devoted career in the dance industry as her
11father's dance driller, counting out steps and demonstrating
12them for students; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Peggy Boyle became certified by the Irish Dancing
14Commission as a dance teacher by learning the melodies of 30
15dances and memorizing how to perform at least eight of them;
16with the Pat Roche School of Irish Dancing, Peggy Boyle gave
17lessons at Connolly's pub, the Doonaree Room, and Emerald
18Catering; she also taught at the American Legion Hall in
19Brookfield and the West Dale Gardens Community Center in
20Hillside; she was well known in the dance community as a
21"no-nonsense instructor" who could quiet a room with just one
22look; she also encouraged a sense of camaraderie amongst her
23students and promoted friendships; and
 

 

 

SR2193- 2 -LRB100 24024 ALS 43385 r

1    WHEREAS, Peggy Boyle expressed that dancing was about
2having fun, and although she was excited for her students to
3win a competition, it was "much more important to her that her
4students loved Irish dancing"; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Peggy Roche married Jimmy Boyle, a guitar player,
6and together they formed the Traveling People, a group that
7performed throughout Chicago; she often performed spoons with
8the group and, according to her son, Seamus, was "one of the
9finest spoons players they'd ever heard"; and
 
10    WHEREAS, As her family grew, Peggy Boyle settled in
11Brookfield and scaled back on dance instruction to care for her
12children; after she had her fifth child, she started teaching
13dance to adults at St. Xavier University and to young children
14at her home; she simultaneously worked for travel agencies,
15including Gaffney Travel on the South Side; she founded her own
16travel agency, Roche Tours, which led groups to Ireland; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Peggy Boyle was a gifted cook who especially
18admired the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten's recipes, however,
19Irish soda bread was her way of comforting many; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Peggy Boyle was the dear sister of Kathleen (Tom)
21McDonnell, Mary Pat (Tony) Kulak, Patrick (Jan) Roche, Collette

 

 

SR2193- 3 -LRB100 24024 ALS 43385 r

1(Tom) McGrath, Kevin (Joanne) Roche, Michael (Suzanne) Roche,
2and the late John (Liane) Roche, the devoted and loving mother
3of Meghan (Marcus) Larson, Kathleen (Jim) Farnan, Siobhan (Tom)
4Luedtke, Seamus (Beth) Boyle, and Patrick (Amy) Boyle, the
5proud grandmother of 15, and the fond aunt of many nieces and
6nephews; therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL
8ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
9Peggy Roche Boyle and extend our sincere condolences to her
10family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it
11further
 
12    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13presented to the family of Peggy Boyle as an expression of our
14deepest sympathy.