Alta E. (Lott) Boyer

Alta E. Boyer, age 107, of Lodi, passed away at home on Thursday, April 21, 2022.

A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, May 14, 2022 at the Lodi Historical Society Building, 2162 Grove Street, Lodi, NY. Burial will be held privately at West Lodi Cemetery.  Kindly consider a donation in Alta’s memory to: Lodi Whittier Library, PO Box 208 or the Lodi Historical Society, PO Box 279, Lodi, NY 14860, in lieu of flowers.

Born October 18, 1914, she was the third child of Lewis Tunison and Edith (Lott) Essom. She spent her growing up years in the landmark Peter Lott mansion at the south end of Lodi village. After her marriage to Charles Hugh Boyer, happy years were spent restoring the circa 1815, historic Philip Lott house and farm, the fifth generation to raise a family and love country life.

Alta graduated from William Smith College in 1936 and for several years was in charge of reunion activities and wrote class columns for Pulteney Street Review Marshall Reunion, the oldest alumni association.

Alta’s professional career was in librarianship, with MLS from SUNY Geneseo plus a second Masters from the Medical Library Association. While director of three main libraries at Willard Psychiatric Center, she served on the board of New York State Library Association, South Central Research Library Council, and the Medical Library Association of New York and Canada. Locally Alta served on the Board of Finger Lakes Library System and was President of the Lodi Whittier Library Association, and Charter Trustee for Finger Lakes Daughters of the American Revolution. She became the Regent of the Chief Taughannock Chapter, DAR in its Centennial and served as the Chaplain and Historian, as well as held State of New York office for NYSDAR, played for NYSDAR conventions and represented DAR of many 4th of July celebrations. Alta organized many activities at the Lodi Historical Society serving as President, organized Summer Concert Series, various exhibits, calendars, Flag Day Old Time Variety Show, and in recent years recited the Gettysburg Address at annual Memorial Day services. Alta also was President of the Twentieth Century Club, member of the NYS Federation of Women’s Club committees, where she won several competitions on the district level. For several years she held membership in the Captain James Avery Chapter, Colonial Dames XVII Century, upstate region.

A favorite activity was genealogy and local history. She wrote a local news column for the Ovid Gazette, wrote feature articles for area newsletters, garden tours, chronologies for 100 years of Willard Psychiatric Center, Lodi Library and Lodi Historical Society. For family reunions Alta compiled fifteen generation genealogies of the Boyer and Lott families, as well as line to four Revolutionary War ancestors.

Her published works include books “History of Lodi Point” and Seneca County Centennial Edition of “Silas Halsey, Lodi Pioneer 1743-1832” and most recently articles in “Life in the Finger Lakes” magazine.

Her biography is listed in several “Who’s Who in American” International Biography Association, “Who’s Who in American Society and National Library Who’s Who,” as well as citations by United Way and Hobart Williams Smith Colleges. She also continued to do her college class notes for HWS magazine, “The Pulteney Street Review.”

Alta enjoyed living in the family home and looking after her extensive gardens and property. She was a great resource for local history, was awarded Citizen of the Year for her outstanding life in the community, and was a beloved grandparent and great grandparent.

She is survived by her children, Charles C. (Linda) Boyer of Irvine, CA and Elizabeth A. (Joseph) Stewart of Circleville, NY; grandchildren, John (Christy) Boyer, Thomas Boyer, Peter (Ann) Boyer, Hannah Stewart (Christopher Metz), and Colin (Danielle) Stewart; and great grandchildren, Elizabeth, Nathan, Emma, Samuel, Nolan, and Claire. She was preceded in death by her parents; first husband, Charles H. Boyer in 1971; second husband Charles Blohm in 2002; and her siblings.

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