VCRS celebrates Mollie Boyer’s ‘sustainable legacy’ with friends and family during trail dedication

PALMER— Friends and family from across the nation gathered at Valley Community Center for Recycling Solutions with staff and volunteers to honor the life and legacy of the late founder Mollie Boyer with a trail dedication on the grounds Saturday, June 26.

“She was always a great friend and an incredible mentor… Teaching everybody so much about not only recycling but life,” VCRS board member, Randi Perlman said. “Let’s celebrate Mollie.”

Boyer died in November of 2020 in her home after a year-and-a-half bout with cancer. She’s credited as the driving force behind the center’s evolution from a small grassroots movement to a full-fledged facility widely utilized by locals. Those utilizing the drive-thru recycling drop off-site can now see the words “Boyer’s Foyer.”

There’s a trail wrapping around the facility featuring recycled art and facts about the surrounding nature that’s dedicated to Boyer’s memory. During the trail dedication, several family members, friends, and colleagues shared stories about Boyer.

“It was really beautiful to see a kind of diverse community of people come together. The common theme I think of is the positive energy that she brings in all of us… That’s the message everyone was giving,” Ashley Boyer-Egan said.

Clyde Boyer shared how proud he was of his sister, and how inspiring she was to everyone for being a strong figure to look up to and inspiring countless people to recycle throughout her life.

“We’re so thankful for all that you did, and thanks for being here,” Clyde said.

Perlman read a poem honoring Boyer for her dedication, passion, and actions leading to major milestones and lasting change for the good, “Dear Mollie, you led a movement. You educated a community… You fostered our collective consciousness. You awakened our passion. You believed in us and our mission. Dear Mollie, you honored your friends and family. You cherished our planet. You held tight to your vision. Dear Mollie, you created so much good. You accomplished your dream. You left a sustainable legacy.”

VCRS Executive Director Steve Brown wore the same tuxedo from his wedding day to pay tribute to Boyer for marrying him and his wife.

“She’ll always be that Mollie who’s looking out for everybody,” Brown said. “We miss her greatly.”

Former Solid Waste Division Manager of Matanuska-Susitna Borough Central Landfill Butch Shapiro shared sentiments about how his longtime neighbor opened his eyes to the true impact recycling can have on the environment and local economy.

“Mollie was special,” Shapiro said. “One of the things I want to leave you with, that I know Mollie would want you to know… We save more than it costs us by keeping that stuff out of the landfill.”

Braided River lead singer Sierra Rose Doherty wrote a song honoring Boyer’s inspirational legacy called “Mollie’s Song.” She said that she was a dear friend and lives on through their memories.

“She’s an educator on how to live an intentional life,” Doherty said.

Doherty and the band performed “Mollie’s Song” with the crowd singing along to lyrics printed on commemorative bookmarks. She encouraged attendees to dance along to melody because “Mollie would be.”

“Even when it seems like she’s gone, just sing out people, the words of Mollie’s song: take care of the things you hold onto. Minimize what you throw away. We only have this one world. And there’s no such thing as away,” Doherty sang. “Take care of the things that we hold true, like the love that we share today. We’ll always have each other. There’s no such thing as away.”

After everyone finished sharing their stories, they walked down the trail dedicated to Boyer for food and drinks inside the center. As people made their way down the trail, they left daisies on a memorial bench that’s infused with some of Boyer’s ashes.

Brown said they’re installing a recycled metal archway on the trail as further homage to the VCRS visionary and ever-present spirit of positive light. He noted that it’s modeled in the form of the Japanese torii gates.

“That’s a transition from the mundane into a sanctuary, a sacred type of state. So, this nature trail that we created, this is a sacred area,” Brown said.

Boyer-Egan said that she remembers her aunt fondly, recalling her long and loving hugs. She said that Boyer radiated positivity that spread far and wide.

“Those hugs would always transfer peace, like peace ran in her bones. I think when she passed, it was strange because I found more peace somehow… Peace lived in her. She breathed it. She didn’t have to explain it. She was it. She was just love, and I think she showed me how to live this way. She left a legacy behind and she left a mark on each of our hearts just by being Mollie… We can leave today with the little message in that song, just be our best selves, and keep Mollie’s spirit alive by living through that peace and giving those long hugs and loving the people we meet even if they’re strangers,” Boyer-Egan said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com