Dr. Mary Boyle
New Paltz mourns the loss of Mary Boyle, emerita professor and director of the College’s music therapy program. Boyle died on May 4, 2012 after a long battle with breast cancer.
Boyle was a beloved teacher, music therapy clinician, music educator, and researcher for more than 30 years. She published widely on the topic of music therapy and comatose patients and presented her work nationally and internationally. A faculty member at New Paltz from 1981 to 2010, she received the received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1990 and the American Music Therapy Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.
Boyle was born January 8, 1947 in Vancouver, Wash.. After graduating from the University of Portland in Portland, Ore., she served as a VISTA volunteer in Somerville, N.J., and later was the Administrative Assistant/Researcher in Municipal Finance at Matthew and Wright, Inc. in New York City. She earned her Master of Arts, Master of Education, and Ed.D. degrees from Teachers College at Columbia University in New York.
She is survived by her brother John Boyle of Vancouver, Wash., and many close friends.
Contributions in her honor may be made to the Mary Boyle Music Therapy Scholarship Fund, SUNY New Paltz Foundation, 1 Hawk Drive, New Paltz, N.Y., 12561.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, May 11, at 11 a.m., at St. Joseph Church in New Paltz. The service will be followed by a reception in the church parlor. For more information and directions, go to the Copeland Funeral Home website: www.copelandfhnp.com.