Artwork honors hospital foundation donors

Paducah artist Kijsa Housman unveiled artwork that Western Baptist commissioned in honor of the late Clyde and LaNelle Boyles during a special ceremony last week attended by the couple’s family members and business associates.

The couple donated $891,000 to the Western Baptist Hospital Foundation Fund in 2008. The Boyles were active in many civic organizations and chose to donate money to Western Baptist Hospital because of the excellent care provided to Mr. Boyles.

“Western Baptist Hospital is honored to receive this considerable contribution from the Boyles family,” said hospital president Larry Barton. “Their generosity will benefit many in our community for years to come.”

Clyde Boyles expanded the family-owned Boyles Brokerage Co., making Paducah one of the largest produce distribution points in the country outside the major markets. Boyles, who died in 1999 at 88, funded many local scholarships for young people needing financial assistance for college.

Lanelle Phelps Boyles taught school at Paducah’s Jefferson Elementary and Washington Junior High. A member of the Kentucky League of Women Voters and the Paducah-McCracken County Planning Commission, she died in 2005 at 92.

The artwork can be viewed across from Western Baptist’s new gift shop. The paintings feature the Boyles Brokerage building on Second Street, a crate of fruit labeled with the Biblical fruits of the spirit, as well as original shipping tags from the company.