Aug 15, 2022 7 min read

East Washington Borough Mayor Matt Boice is being remembered for his service to the community and a man of great musical talent.

The borough shared the news of his death Friday on its website.

Boice lived in the borough for 34 years, was sworn in as mayor in January and had served as council president.

East Washington Councilman Michael McCormick not only knew Boice from the work on borough council, but also went to school with Boice’s two daughters.

When McCormick was in the marching band at Washington High School, Boice was a band parent who drove the band’s truck, served as their announcer and continued volunteering for the band after his daughters graduated.

“I always thought, ‘How can he do all this stuff and still help out?'” McCormick said. “It was amazing.”

McCormick said he was honored to have served with Boice on council. He recalled a council meeting last week when he sat next to Boice, and they were talking and cracking jokes like usual.

“I didn’t expect that conversation I had with him to be the last,” McCormick said.

McCormick said everyone liked Boice, and anyone could call him, as he was a go-to guy.

“One of his sayings when doing borough stuff and how he approached things was, ‘I’m not looking to take credit for something; I just want to get it done,'” McCormick said. “He was a man of action.”

Washington City Councilman Joseph DeThomas knew Boice for 25 years, as his daughter and Boice’s daughter went to high school together.

He first met Boice through his wife, who sang with the Washington Festival Chorale, of which Boice was conductor, and they’ve been close friends since.

“He was very involved in the community: He directed the road department and was instrumental in getting the speed bumps installed in East Washington,” DeThomas said.

DeThomas added that Boice was a very happy man and was always willing to do so many things for so many people.

“He wouldn’t take credit for the things he would do,” DeThomas said, adding that Boice mowed grass at the Masonic Lodge where he was a member and never asked for a dime for his efforts.

“It was just something he did as a caring person,” DeThomas said. “To me, he was always a good friend; any time I needed something, he was there for me.”

DeThomas said what really defined Boice as the caring person he was came through in his work with the Shriners Hospital for Children.

“He would travel to Baltimore for the Shriners and work with the kids,” DeThomas said. “He actually drove the parents back and forth to see their kids in the Shriners Hospital.”

Washington Councilman Andrew G. Callan said he’s both saddened and heartbroken to hear about the passing of Boice, who was Callan’s next-door neighbor for 10 years.

“Like a true neighbor, he was always willing to help when needed,” Callan said. “I could go over and knock on his door at 10 p.m. and ask to borrow his crescent wrench.”

Callan also mentioned Boice’s musical talents, adding that he was a brilliant musician who could play every instrument.

“My father-in-law, who also is a great guitarist, decided he wanted to learn the banjo about 10 years ago,” Callan said. “He struck up a conversation with Matt, who told him that he would give my father-in-law a few pointers and lessons on the banjo, because, of course, he knew how to play the banjo and play it flawlessly.”

Callan said he has a great memory of the two men putting on an impromptu banjo concert on Callan’s back porch.

Dave Richards of Chartiers Township knew Boice for about 20 years, serving with Boice in the Masons for a few years.

“He was very involved in stuff; he had his hands in a little bit of everything,” Richards said. “He was always doing what was best for everybody, but always looking to make things better in the system any way he could.”

Richards said Boice was very much community-minded, as he cared about what was going on around him, and was also easygoing with an even temperament with everyone.

Richards said Boice helped him not long ago with the death of his fiancee’s son, securing space at his church, First Presbyterian Church in Washington, for a wake following the funeral.

Boice’s reputation with music is as great and appreciated as his reputation as a public servant and friend, serving as the director of music and organist at First Presbyterian. He was also a retired music teacher.

“Matt was a giant in the music education community,” stated Cory Neville, band director for Quaker Valley High School, on his Facebook page. “Apart from his two-decade tenure at QV, he also served as a band director at Avella and Peters Township earlier in his career. He was a very talented musician who could seemingly do everything well.”

Neville said Boice was humble about his musical abilities, and was a friendly, cooperative and supportive colleague with a great sense of humor.

One of his former choir students, Connor Hamilton of Sewickley, said Boice and her dad were very close, and Boice eventually taught Hamilton when she attended Quaker Valley, where she graduated in 2013.

“He was the sweetest guy,” Hamilton said, adding that anyone who knew Boice would have the most amazing things to say about him. “He touched the hearts of everybody he talked to. He could talk to anyone.”

Hamilton said Boice was very musically inclined and knew how to teach, helping her learn to play piano during chorus practices.

“I mentioned I wanted to be a music teacher, and he said I have to learn to play the piano,” she said, adding that, by the end of the semester, she had learned to play “The Entertainer” on the piano.

Now a digital line producer for KDKA TV, Hamilton also recalls her junior year of high school when Boice remembered that Hamilton made a collection of origami crane birds during class. Boice asked her if she would be willing to teach the wives at the Masonic Lodge how to make those cranes so they would be entertained while the husband conducted lodge business.

“It was a fun experience,” she said.

According to First Presbyterian Church’s website, Boice was a 1979 graduate of Butler Area School District. He earned degrees of Bachelor of Music from Grove City College, Master of Music from Duquesne University and has done doctoral work in music education at West Virginia University, as well as other post-graduate studies at Westminster Choir College and Kent (Ohio) State University.

He had been on staff at First Presbyterian Church since 1985, when he accepted the position of tenor soloist. In 2015, he was named director of music and organist.

Boice served 33 years as a public school music teacher, where he held positions of choral director, band director and department chair as well as an adjunct positions at California University, Washington & Jefferson College, Grove City and Waynesburg University.

He was a member of the American Choral Directors Association and Pennsylvania Music Educators Association and a past member of the PMEA State Board and past president of PMEA District One.

He is survived by his wife, Linda; two daughters and granddaughter.

“Matt was a prominent member of our borough and his death is a tragic loss to our community,” the church statement read.