Merry Sue Boggs

January 14, 1954 - March 18, 2021

Merry Sue Boggs, a bright, colorful spirit, born April 14, 1954 in Muncie, Indiana, died March 18, 2021, at St. Vincent Hospital, Beaverton, Oregon of complications from open-heart surgery. Merry, at age 3, moved with missionary parents and siblings to Tokyo, then Hokkaido where she grew and developed a love and concern for people, playing “doctor” with her siblings, making the “owies” go away. Her childhood life was full of play in the woods, family reading story books, donning leotards with her brothers and sister and twirling and leaping into the air to Tchaikovsky’s ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies.’ She was the only family member who could master the family’s cantankerous pony, riding him bareback with a willow switch clenched between her teeth ready to command the animal. Merry was given drawing lessons which developed her artistic eye and abilities. She also learned the violin, performing with the Greenville High School Orchestra, and later traveled to orchestral camp in the summer of her junior year. She graduated from Woodward High School in Cincinnati, Ohio and earned her Associates in Science in Nursing, Kettering College of Medical Arts. Merry went on to obtain her BSN and certificates in Wound, Ostomy and Management of the Diabetic Foot (Emory), finishing her formal education with her Master of Science in Nursing at Maryville University of Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri. She was invited into Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Merry’s medical education culminated in a dream to open a rural clinic offering medical services for the underserved. Tucked in between all the educational efforts was a happy, loving, mischievous, inventive, beyond-the norm thinker who believed life was crammed with possibilities. Her love of ALL mediums of art was reflected in her art studio stuffed with silk dresses/shirts from Goodwill, washed and ready to paint, to acrylic paints and canvases to teach young children the pleasure of art through self-expression and exploration of color and texture. Watercolor was her love, but she also dabbled in pastels and sculpting…every scrap of paper, old button, one-inch remnant of lace…all held potential for a masterpiece. We figured that God would have to give Merry a massive storage shed to stash all the experiences she will want to try. This constant view of potential wrapped itself around any person Merry encountered. Whether tending to wounds or assessing the medical history and health of a patient, always, firstly, Merry knew she was helping someone with a soul, with their own story, and she took time to listen to the whole person, to encourage, to offer a solution, to love. Such love was Merry’s signature everywhere she went - Saudi Arabia, then Yugoslavia, Turkey, Sri-Lanka, Europe, USA. This love sprang from her faith in her redeemer, Jesus Christ, and the deep affection and acceptance of family. That love would be known by those who preceded Merry in death: Virgil Boggs (Grandfather), Ava Turner-Boggs (Grandmother), Finley Duff (Grandfather), Ethel May Runyan-Duff (Grandmother), Clarence Eldon Boggs (Father), Ann Livingston (Sister), Rita Schell-Boggs (sister-in-law), Jordan Wesley Boggs (nephew), Daniel McKenzie Boggs (nephew). Those surviving Merry are: Wanda Beth Boggs (mother), Jonathan Eldon Boggs (brother), Bethany Boggs-Fisher (sister), Philip Wilfred Fisher (brother-in-law), Joel Titus Boggs (brother), Katherine Elizabeth Semrau (Niece), Maggie Semrau (niece), Adam Philip Fisher (nephew), Amber Fisher (wife), Brayden Matthew Fisher (nephew), Aaron Andrus Boggs (nephew), Amber Lawson-Boggs (wife), Thomas Smith Boggs (nephew), Jamison Eldon Boggs (nephew), Lennon Olivia Boggs (grandniece), Romi Lou Boggs (grandniece), Vicky Boggs-Snyder (cousin), Connie Boggs (cousin), Sharon Boggs-Smith (cousin), Debbie Lee Duff (cousin), Laura Ruth Duff (cousin), Lisa May Duff (cousin). The Funeral Service celebrating Merry’s life will be held at Attrell’s Funeral Chapel, Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 2:00 PM. The service will be limited due to Covid restrictions. Cards of condolences can be mailed to Beth Boggs and Family, P.O. Box 385, Dundee, OR 97115. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to defray medical costs through www.gofundme.com/f/merry-sue-boggs-medical-expenses. Arrangements by Attrell’s Funeral Chapel