WARRENTON, Ore. — Gerald (Jerry) R. Boisvert died in Warrenton, Ore., on Jan. 28. He was born in Lewiston on April 11, 1950.

He is survived by his wife, Dolores Boisvert, of Warrenton; children, Barney Boisvert (Sherwood, Ore.) and Peggy Boisvert (Astoria, Ore.); grandchildren, Nikolai, Lindsay, Gabriel and Emery Boisvert; brother, Thomas Boisvert (Northfield, Mass.); and sister, Renée Boisvert Patterson (Fresno, Calif.). His parents, Wilfred L. Boisvert and Bernadette V. Boisvert, and sister, Susan Boisvert Lord, predeceased Jerry.

Growing up in Lewiston, Jerry attended local schools and graduated from St. Dominic Regional High School in 1968. Jerry was a competitive and entrepreneurial child; he played baseball and began playing soccer in high school, earning soccer awards in high school and college. For many years, Jerry and his brother delivered newspapers for the Lewiston Daily Sun; Jerry expanded the newspaper route into summer and winter jobs in the community: mowing lawns, shoveling snow, and caring for homes.

Upon graduating from high school, Jerry began committing himself to the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. He attended Providence College, in Providence, R.I., and after graduating from Providence in 1972, Jerry spent a year as a novitiate with the Brothers. Jerry chose to leave the order in 1973 and began a solo trip across the United States, taking odd jobs to fund his travel.

With a broken-down car, Jerry landed in South Bend, Wash., in 1974. He entered the fishery business, working for Coast Oyster and later for Point Adams Packing Co. in Chignik, Ala., where he met his future wife. They were married in Seattle on July 10, 1976. Jerry continued to work in fisheries, retiring from Pacific Coast Seafood in 2017.

Jerry brought his coaching instincts and love of soccer to Warrenton, where he helped found the Lower Columbia Youth Soccer Association (LCYSA) in 1984. He, along with a group of volunteers, slowly built the Warrenton Soccer Complex while facilitating, coaching and officiating soccer at all levels. In January of this year he was awarded the “Jimmy Conway Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Oregon Youth Soccer Association.

Beyond his love of family and commitment to work, the Warrenton soccer fields were Jerry’s passion. He could be found there daily: mowing, digging, lining fields, trapping moles, repairing nets, spreading fertilizer, moving rocks and logs to create parking, planning, building and “putz-ing.” When choosing equipment for the playground, he chose toys that he himself would play on. He was always the biggest kid on the field.

A celebration of Jerry’s life was held Sunday, Feb. 4, at the Astoria High School Auditorium. It was Jerry’s request that an LCYSA player scholarship be established; donations made to: LCYSA Soccer, P.O. Box 457, Warrenton, OR 97146, in Jerry’s name, will be earmarked for that purpose.

Gerald “Jerry” R. Boisvert