Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys Memorial
Collection: Winfield Notable Artists
Title
Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys Memorial
Subject
Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys
Description
Titled "A Celebration of the Life of Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys", this program details the life of Covacevich-Boys as well as her art. The Celebration of Life section depicts Covacevich-Boys' carefully crafted ceremony and handpicked musical selections.
Source
Winfield Public Library
Publisher
Winfield Public Library. Winfield, KS. USA
Date
1998-05-19
Rights
Format
text/plain
Language
English
Type
Programs
Citation
“Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys Memorial,” Winfield Digital Collections, accessed April 30, 2024, https://winfield.digitalsckls.info/item/61.
Text
A Celebration of the Life of
Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys
Feb. 14, 1905/May 14, 1998
The Painting Composition: Abstraction
each life is a painting
each life has a destiny
a search —
where do we find the
needs our souls call for?
in our love for mankind,
in our home we create
in the lives of those
we touch—
in our faith in
the brotherhood of man
life—
to strive
to struggle
to love
to seek
to wait
and not to yield.
some paintings are memories of life’s longings.
The Life
Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys died May 14,1998, at CumbernauldVillage in Winfield, Kan. She was born Feb. 14,1905, in Wellington, Kan. Her parents were Harvey and Julia (Miller) Hill. She was raised in Wellington and was a Wellington High School graduate.
She received a diploma in painting from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., where she studied under Birger Sandzen in 1927. Boys earned an A.B. from Southwestern College in 1945 and an M.A. from Colorado State University in 1950. She received an honorary doctorate from Southwestern College in 1988. During a twelve-year residence in Mexico, she worked at the San Carlos Art School. There she met and worked with Diego Rivera.
Mrs. Boys retired from teaching in 1973 after 43 years at the primary, secondary, and college levels. As a teacher for 10 years at Derby High School, her students completed 120 mosaic murals. A pioneer in art therapy, she established innovative programs at the Winfield State Hospital and Training Center during the 1950s. The Menninger Clinic has used her program as a model for other institutions. She concluded her teaching career at Cowley County Community College.
Boys was an international award-winning artist. Her paintings have been in international exhibitions in Mexico, Florence, Rome, and London, as well as in New York City and many galleries in the United States. She has prints in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
She received many awards for work as well as for teaching. These include the Kansas Art Commission/Governor's Artist of the Year in 1981; special citation as Outstanding Artist and Teacher, Wichita State University; Wichita Women in Communications, Inc.; and international gold medal at the XXI Internazionale D’Arte Contemporance, Florence, Italy.
She was a member of the Wichita Artist Guild, National Pen Women, Kansas Federation of the Arts, and Soroptimist Club.
Boys had a profound influence on the Winfield community in addition to teaching in the public schools and at Southwestern College. She painted a 900-square foot mural, “Historical Cowley County,” in the First National Bank lobby. She founded the Winfield Arts Center, which later became the Arts and Humanities Council, and was commissioned by the Bicentennial Committee of Winfield for a stainless sculpture,“Gateway to the Future,” that was installed in Island Park.
She was author of two books, Impressions of Mexico, 1938, and Churches of Mexico, 1944. She has published four folios of block prints. Illustrations by Mrs. Boys also have been included in textbooks for the study of English adopted by Mexican secondary schools.
She married Nicolas Covacevich in 1932 and he preceded her in death. She married Lewis Boys in 1979, and he preceded her in death on March 3,1990.
She is survived by a daughter,Teresa Covacevich-Grana,Washington, D.C., four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a daughter, Jean Van Dyk, and a stepson,Jack Boys.
A Celebration of Life
May 19,1998
Prelude
Prayer
Call to worship
Welcome
Readings from The Prophet and from Sue Jean's journals by family members and former students
Specific remembrances
Scripture, homily, and special music
Musical selections chosen by Sue Jean:
Amazing Grace
Home on the Range
Somewhere, My Love
Ted's Jazz
Musicians: Judith Conners, Ted Van Dyk
Prayers
Postlude (please remain seated)
Pallbearers: Ted Van Dyk, Rod Jones, Joe Toledo, Jerry Weist
Officiant: The Rev. Fran Broadhurst
Memorials have been established in her name with the Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys Visual Art Scholarship from the Winfield Arts and Humanities Council, 700 Gary St., Winfield, Kan., 67156, and with the mobile van fund of Cumbernauld Village, 716 Tweed, Winfield, Kan., 67156.
The family invites friends to greet them at Sue Jean's home, 1302 E. 12th, Winfield, following the interment.
To My Daughters
Do not be sad when I go
I am not leaving — I do not sleep.
I am a part of your memory
of laughter,
of tears,
of tea time at the end of day,
of new dresses,
of arguments, discussions, and fights,
of first day of school,
of trips —
to Wichita,
to Colorado,
to Europe,
to Mexico,
of museums, museums, museums.
Let me be a part of your memory
of the winds that blow,
of the sunlight on ripened grain,
of the gentle autumn rain,
of when you awake in the morning quiet and hear the upfling of birds in circling flight, of the soft summer nights.
My dears, never grieve for me,
I am a part of all that I have loved.
On Being an Artist
To be an artist is to have a capacity for awareness and delight at being thoroughly alive. But that is not enough. The artist must function to transmit this awareness. The act, be it painting, drawing or carving, is a song in praise of life.
I believe every man, in the depth of his heart, desires to be an artist in the largest sense of the word; and thinking with his hands, his spirit, his passion—he discovers his world. It may be one of tragedy, or it may be of happiness, depending on the way we look.
To be an artist is to be forever a student. To look at trees, the fields, the sun, fire, rain, the faces of people and into the hearts of people, into one’s own heart, to realize mistakes and weaknesses, but to see the wonderful possibilities of being a human being—all this is being an artist.
Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys
The Meaning of Life
The majority of people
Want to take,
To get.
The minority of people
Have a great need
To give,
To create.
This is the meaning
Of life.
Observations
Painting has been a part of my life since I was 10 years old and discovered drawing. Once I worried about the realness of‘fuzz’ on peaches. Then there were years when I was intrigued with color and techniques. One is always looking for new ways to communicate. Sometimes one gets too involved with the bric-a-brac of civilization.
Art is one of the really great resources of life.
I believe it not only enriches the spiritual life, but makes one have empathy.
Think of all the images we carry within us! Nature gives a most enjoyable search. My sketches aren’t copies of nature, but a sort of mixture of fact and feeling.
A natural form is one thing, and an art form is another.
A painting should have good design, rich color and be exciting. Of course, I’d like to knock out paintings with instant effects but that just doesn’t happen to me. I work with painstaking care and thought to keep the painting fresh and spontaneous and still tell the mood or essence of an idea. Something must be left to the viewer’s imagination and in this way the painting becomes part of the viewer’s self.
I paint in an attempt to capture the essence of life—its meaning in interrelation with the natural environment and the spirit of its magnitude—It is Earth’s energy, the soaring skies, the sureness of the sun, nature forms and moods.
Creativity
yes, we have a textbook
it’s the biggest and most wonderful—the world
it’s free and one you create and keep.
it’s the world you live in,
the world you feel
the world you see
the things around you
old things you keep
old things you like—
bottles, ashes, rocks, machinery,
new things like gadgets, cars nature things
the grass—weeds along the roads fruits and vegetables flowers and trees
pots and pans peoples, places and things
don’t let your world be a small one draw big, think big, be big —feel big
everything you create is colored by our feelings
are you feeling small and mean
are you busy hating someone?
are you busy trying to be like everyone else?
or are you busy trying to be a non-conformist?
(Each fall Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys gave a copy of this observation to her art students. She is shown with the Taj Mahal in the background, during an around-the-world tour in 198?.)
Original Format
Paper
Title
Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys Memorial
Subject
Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys
Description
Titled "A Celebration of the Life of Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys", this program details the life of Covacevich-Boys as well as her art. The Celebration of Life section depicts Covacevich-Boys' carefully crafted ceremony and handpicked musical selections.
Source
Winfield Public Library
Publisher
Winfield Public Library. Winfield, KS. USA
Date
1998-05-19
Rights
Format
text/plain
Language
English
Type
Programs
Citation
“Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys Memorial,” Winfield Digital Collections, accessed April 30, 2024, https://winfield.digitalsckls.info/item/61.Text
A Celebration of the Life of
Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys
Feb. 14, 1905/May 14, 1998
The Painting Composition: Abstraction
each life is a painting
each life has a destiny
a search —
where do we find the
needs our souls call for?
in our love for mankind,
in our home we create
in the lives of those
we touch—
in our faith in
the brotherhood of man
life—
to strive
to struggle
to love
to seek
to wait
and not to yield.
some paintings are memories of life’s longings.
The Life
Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys died May 14,1998, at CumbernauldVillage in Winfield, Kan. She was born Feb. 14,1905, in Wellington, Kan. Her parents were Harvey and Julia (Miller) Hill. She was raised in Wellington and was a Wellington High School graduate.
She received a diploma in painting from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., where she studied under Birger Sandzen in 1927. Boys earned an A.B. from Southwestern College in 1945 and an M.A. from Colorado State University in 1950. She received an honorary doctorate from Southwestern College in 1988. During a twelve-year residence in Mexico, she worked at the San Carlos Art School. There she met and worked with Diego Rivera.
Mrs. Boys retired from teaching in 1973 after 43 years at the primary, secondary, and college levels. As a teacher for 10 years at Derby High School, her students completed 120 mosaic murals. A pioneer in art therapy, she established innovative programs at the Winfield State Hospital and Training Center during the 1950s. The Menninger Clinic has used her program as a model for other institutions. She concluded her teaching career at Cowley County Community College.
Boys was an international award-winning artist. Her paintings have been in international exhibitions in Mexico, Florence, Rome, and London, as well as in New York City and many galleries in the United States. She has prints in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
She received many awards for work as well as for teaching. These include the Kansas Art Commission/Governor's Artist of the Year in 1981; special citation as Outstanding Artist and Teacher, Wichita State University; Wichita Women in Communications, Inc.; and international gold medal at the XXI Internazionale D’Arte Contemporance, Florence, Italy.
She was a member of the Wichita Artist Guild, National Pen Women, Kansas Federation of the Arts, and Soroptimist Club.
Boys had a profound influence on the Winfield community in addition to teaching in the public schools and at Southwestern College. She painted a 900-square foot mural, “Historical Cowley County,” in the First National Bank lobby. She founded the Winfield Arts Center, which later became the Arts and Humanities Council, and was commissioned by the Bicentennial Committee of Winfield for a stainless sculpture,“Gateway to the Future,” that was installed in Island Park.
She was author of two books, Impressions of Mexico, 1938, and Churches of Mexico, 1944. She has published four folios of block prints. Illustrations by Mrs. Boys also have been included in textbooks for the study of English adopted by Mexican secondary schools.
She married Nicolas Covacevich in 1932 and he preceded her in death. She married Lewis Boys in 1979, and he preceded her in death on March 3,1990.
She is survived by a daughter,Teresa Covacevich-Grana,Washington, D.C., four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a daughter, Jean Van Dyk, and a stepson,Jack Boys.
A Celebration of Life
May 19,1998
Prelude
Prayer
Call to worship
Welcome
Readings from The Prophet and from Sue Jean's journals by family members and former students
Specific remembrances
Scripture, homily, and special music
Musical selections chosen by Sue Jean:
Amazing Grace
Home on the Range
Somewhere, My Love
Ted's Jazz
Musicians: Judith Conners, Ted Van Dyk
Prayers
Postlude (please remain seated)
Pallbearers: Ted Van Dyk, Rod Jones, Joe Toledo, Jerry Weist
Officiant: The Rev. Fran Broadhurst
Memorials have been established in her name with the Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys Visual Art Scholarship from the Winfield Arts and Humanities Council, 700 Gary St., Winfield, Kan., 67156, and with the mobile van fund of Cumbernauld Village, 716 Tweed, Winfield, Kan., 67156.
The family invites friends to greet them at Sue Jean's home, 1302 E. 12th, Winfield, following the interment.
To My Daughters
Do not be sad when I go
I am not leaving — I do not sleep.
I am a part of your memory
of laughter,
of tears,
of tea time at the end of day,
of new dresses,
of arguments, discussions, and fights,
of first day of school,
of trips —
to Wichita,
to Colorado,
to Europe,
to Mexico,
of museums, museums, museums.
Let me be a part of your memory
of the winds that blow,
of the sunlight on ripened grain,
of the gentle autumn rain,
of when you awake in the morning quiet and hear the upfling of birds in circling flight, of the soft summer nights.
My dears, never grieve for me,
I am a part of all that I have loved.
On Being an Artist
To be an artist is to have a capacity for awareness and delight at being thoroughly alive. But that is not enough. The artist must function to transmit this awareness. The act, be it painting, drawing or carving, is a song in praise of life.
I believe every man, in the depth of his heart, desires to be an artist in the largest sense of the word; and thinking with his hands, his spirit, his passion—he discovers his world. It may be one of tragedy, or it may be of happiness, depending on the way we look.
To be an artist is to be forever a student. To look at trees, the fields, the sun, fire, rain, the faces of people and into the hearts of people, into one’s own heart, to realize mistakes and weaknesses, but to see the wonderful possibilities of being a human being—all this is being an artist.
Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys
The Meaning of Life
The majority of people
Want to take,
To get.
The minority of people
Have a great need
To give,
To create.
This is the meaning
Of life.
Observations
Painting has been a part of my life since I was 10 years old and discovered drawing. Once I worried about the realness of‘fuzz’ on peaches. Then there were years when I was intrigued with color and techniques. One is always looking for new ways to communicate. Sometimes one gets too involved with the bric-a-brac of civilization.
Art is one of the really great resources of life.
I believe it not only enriches the spiritual life, but makes one have empathy.
Think of all the images we carry within us! Nature gives a most enjoyable search. My sketches aren’t copies of nature, but a sort of mixture of fact and feeling.
A natural form is one thing, and an art form is another.
A painting should have good design, rich color and be exciting. Of course, I’d like to knock out paintings with instant effects but that just doesn’t happen to me. I work with painstaking care and thought to keep the painting fresh and spontaneous and still tell the mood or essence of an idea. Something must be left to the viewer’s imagination and in this way the painting becomes part of the viewer’s self.
I paint in an attempt to capture the essence of life—its meaning in interrelation with the natural environment and the spirit of its magnitude—It is Earth’s energy, the soaring skies, the sureness of the sun, nature forms and moods.
Creativity
yes, we have a textbook
it’s the biggest and most wonderful—the world
it’s free and one you create and keep.
it’s the world you live in,
the world you feel
the world you see
the things around you
old things you keep
old things you like—
bottles, ashes, rocks, machinery,
new things like gadgets, cars nature things
the grass—weeds along the roads fruits and vegetables flowers and trees
pots and pans peoples, places and things
don’t let your world be a small one draw big, think big, be big —feel big
everything you create is colored by our feelings
are you feeling small and mean
are you busy hating someone?
are you busy trying to be like everyone else?
or are you busy trying to be a non-conformist?
(Each fall Sue Jean Covacevich-Boys gave a copy of this observation to her art students. She is shown with the Taj Mahal in the background, during an around-the-world tour in 198?.)
Original Format
Paper