The old original visitors bureau building was replaced when our area's relationship with tourism began to mature and grow.

Like the multitudes of wild geese we see migrating overhead in this season, tributes have been flocking in for Una Boyle, the former Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau leader who on Nov. 9 flew onward from this life.

Una was a bold but self-effacing leader, someone with enthusiasm for our little corner of Washington who managed to maintain a sense of humor about our various shades of weirdness. She framed favorite items from the Chinook Observer’s famous curated 911 dispatch report and gave them to me.

One of these I’ll always love transpired at the Long Beach arch in the 1990s, when “an older man in a raincoat and hat [was spotted] singing in the rain.”

Our last conversation was in a grocery aisle — venue for so many neighborly chats — and revolved around local news, whose themes repeat like the ebbing and flowing tides. We lingered over our encounter in tacit awareness that such an opportunity might not come around again.

This fits exactly with one of the observations offered about Una by her friend and wife, Peg Hopkins:

At the personal member-of-community level she had a deep sensitivity to people; women, men and children of all ages. I remember her sharing with me (or I witnessed) many, many times casually chatting with someone at the grocery store, standing in line at the bank, walking on the Boardwalk etc.… everywhere, anywhere, and the man or woman would end up sharing with Una deep and profound experiences in their life. She would spend time with them listening, offering encouragement, crying, laughing and being so present with each person. Una possessed a profound awareness and understanding of the human experience in all its myriad of forms. From here her empathy was communicated through the ethers I guess, because they opened themselves to her through their stories.

Many speak about her humanity, honesty and compassion. She was attached to those she cared about as if by an irresistible force of gravity, at the same making room in her heart for anyone in need. Her decades-long friend and advisor Katelyn Staecker said:

Una was an amazing individual. Strong and truthful, but caring and giving. If you were part of her circle she made it a mission to know you and honor you. She wanted to be there and help with anything you were going through. What I loved is how she was always thinking of the people in her life: she would sit down and write you a card and it would come when you needed it the most. She would buy little gifts that held meaning of that person or the relationship she had with them. Nothing got by her, she made you feel seen. I loved that about my dear friend Una.

In her nearly eight decades of fully engaged living, Una succeeded over and over again, helping guide institutions and social movements in ways that may not have been as well noticed as they deserved. Before moving to Pacific County, she was a key aide to Seattle Mayor Charlie Royer, the first time an openly gay person was appointed to city government. Both in the city and after she relocated down here in 1987, Una was an insightful mentor to young people, serving as an inspiration to many. Peg recalled:

Many Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered people learned of her through her activism, particularly the ‘Hands off Washington’ campaign she initiated regionally. At the time a visible Lesbian attracted attention and she encouraged, counseled and supported many LGBQT+ people who sought her out. These were the beginning times of social and political evolution for people not heterosexual. Indeed, she had earlier traveled across the state speaking to groups of all types about homosexuality that helped break down stereotypes, myths and gross assumptions.

It would require a book and much more space than we have here to fully explore all the ways in which Una contributed to national, state and local initiatives. These ranged from the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial to bringing espresso culture here to the beach for the first time at Pastimes. This was the bistro-style cafe she opened with then-partner Penny, with help and encouragement from Dick Friedrich and Angela Harris — both local English professors — and Jimella Lucas and Nanci Main of the Ark Restaurant.

But it’s no doubt as executive director of the visitors bureau that Una is best known by most local people. Carol Zahorsky, our area’s marketing consultant, worked with her closely:

Una was pivotal in creating the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors’ Bureau (today’s Pacific County Tourism) and in building a longtime NW family getaway into a nationally recognized destination. Una was an excellent writer and an exacting editor, which is what one wants in an editor most of the time. She was authentic, spoke her mind, and stood up courageously for things she believed in. I’m not sure the community knew how much she did for the welfare of its residents/her neighbors (Camp Victory and at-risk youth) and the local economy (through tourism). She did it all without fanfare and, from an outsider’s perspective, with little recognition.

It is one of the truisms of small-town life — and life in general — that the fraction of people who account for most of society’s momentum never get the credit they deserve. But I know Una enjoyed a rich circle of deeply devoted friends from every walk of life, and that she has moved forward into eternity enwrapped in their love.