Plains mourns death of local man
Danielle Switalski
f Plains gathered Monday morning at the Assembly of God church to mourn the loss of Benjamin Boles, who passed away last Thursday morning at the age of 66.
Boles passed away from a heart attack at Clark Fork Valley Hospital after his vehicle went through two fences in the Plains Elementary school yard, ultimately crossing Railroad St. and stopping in a ditch across from the Elementary school.
The accident and Boles’ death, according to Plains Chief of Police Shawn Emmett, was caused by a heart attack.
Boles’ car made initial contact with the fence surrounding the Elementary school yard off of Clayton St. at 6:47 in the morning of Thursday September 24, said Emmett, where it skidded across the grass and went through the elementary school fence that lines Railroad St., jumped across the highway and landed in the ditch.
Lee Mercier of Plains Rural Fire Department was one of the first to arrive on the scene. Mercier said he had to break open the passenger side window in order to get inside of the vehicle because the doors were locked and the vehicle was still running. Once they got Boles out of the car, they did a life assessment and “got him packaged up as quickly as possible” and into the ambulance.
Boles was immediately transported to the Clark Fork Valley Hospital where he later passed away.
Boles has been a prominent member of the Plains community for many years. His funeral was proof of all the lives he has touched during his lifetime, as there was standing room only once the funeral began at 11:00 a.m.
The funeral, which was officiated by Reverend Jim Sinclair, opened with a prayer followed by a song from Plains school Principal Larry McDonald.
The morning proceeded in an informal fashion, dedicating the time to remembering and sharing the memories of a cherished individual. Boles’ son Kevin Boles gave the first speech sharing with the church his fathers’ loves, which started with cars and pickups, “he had 60 or 70 of them,” said Kevin Boles to a laughing crowd.
Boles had a certain fondness for camping, taking the boat out, his beloved pets and, as most people in the community know, cooking.
Boles was born on February 3, 1943 in Fairview, Montana. It is there where he married Shirley Peterson on October 27, 1961. They lived in Sidney for ten years, where they started their family and had son, Kevin and daughters Sheri Sue and Theresa Michelle.
The family moved to Plains in 1972 where Boles managed Cal Gas for eight years. In 1981, they bought the Mint Bar and Café. Shortly after they started Benji’s Restaurant located on Railroad St.
During the funeral, after Kevin spoke, Kevin’s daughter read her poem entitled “Grandpa” and shared some of her fond memories of her time spent with Boles, followed by a song read by Boles’ wife Shirley. The floor was then open for anyone to take the microphone and share their memories, stories and condolences with the church. Many people spoke of the love and kindness Boles had shown to them, particularly in their time spent with Boles at Benji’s Restaurant. There was not one person who did not touch on the fact that Boles was welcoming and encouraging to every person he met.
A common joke throughout the service was how almost everyone worked for Boles at one point in time or another.
“Bennie trained a lot of people for a lot of jobs, and he made me what I am today,” said April Armstrong, who used to work for Boles.
The service came to a close with the song Amazing Grace, words of comfort from Reverend Sinclair and a video montage portraying the life of Boles.
Boles was laid to rest in Plains cemetery.
Boles is survived by his wife Shirley Boles, son Kevin Boles and wife Daphne, daughter Theresa Praley and husband Ed, grandchildren Taylor Boles, Eddie and David Praley, and adopted grandchildren Wesley and Jennifer Lapierre, Holland Lapp and Lauren Nielson, his sisters Eilene Rambue and Liela Micheletto.