Levant Boyles

LeVant Boyles, 79, died January 23, 1950, when fire swept through an isolated Fairfield Township farmhouse four miles west of Cochranton about 11 a.m.

Mrs. Hannah Keene, the owner of the farmhouse escaped the home in her wheelchair.  Boyles, who lived at Mrs. Keen's home for the past few years to take care of her and the property, died as he tried to extinguish flames sweeping through the two-room second floor of the house.  The house was destroyed, and Boyles' remains were found in the ruins.

A resident of Crawford County all of his life except for two years he spent in Sharon, Boyles spent most of his time in the Blooming Valley area, in East Mead Township, where he was a farmer.

She was a charter member of Blooming Valley Grange.  Son of the late Harrison and Elizabeth Adams Boyles, he is survived by four children, Mrs. Lucille Richards of Farrell, Mrs. Ruth Creigton of Mercer, Mrs. Arlene Smoyer of Clairton and Earl Boyles of Sharpsville; 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

His wife, Mary Houser Boyles, died in 1932, and a son, Edward, was killed in action in Germany in 1945.  Two brothers, a twin, LeGrant and Edward Boyles, and a half-sister, Mrs.  Grace Slater, also preceded Boyles in death.

Services were held at Waid Funeral Home.

Interment was in Blooming Valley Cemetery.