George E. Boynton, a retired insurance executive and standout athlete who played high school, college and club lacrosse, died Saturday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, at the Blakehurst retirement community. The former Roland Park resident was 76.
Born in Baltimore and raised in Roland Park, he was the son of John William "Benny" Boynton, an insurance broker, and Dorothy Welsh. He was a 1956 graduate of the Gilman School and achieved distinction on its lacrosse team. He was point guard on the basketball team and was football quarterback. He was also his class president.
"George was a once-in-a-decade athlete," said Henry R. Lord, a Gilman classmate and lifelong friend. "He was in a class by himself. You would watch him and think, 'What did I just see?' He was tough as nails and had incredible reflexes. He was indomitable."
Mr. Lord also described his friend as a born leader who led by personal example.
He received the school's William A. Fisher Medallion and, for two consecutive years, its William Cabell Bruce Athletic Prize.
"Gilman beats City 7-4 as George Boynton stars," said a 1956 Baltimore Sun news account of the game where he was awarded the C. Markland Kelly Lacrosse Award at halftime.
He also took the school's top basketball award.
"He was known for his patented underhanded layup shot," said another classmate, Dave Dresser, who lives in Ovid, N.Y.
Family members said that Princeton University sought Mr. Boynton. He bypassed the school and visited Williams College in western Massachusetts. He and other Gilman students enrolled there and became standout lacrosse players. He and his fellow players were named first team All-New England. He won the Williams Purple Key Award and the trophy for best basketball player. He achieved All-American status in 1960.
He later played club lacrosse for Mount Washington and was co-captain of the 1969 World Lacrosse Team.
"He was quick as a cat. He loved his sports and enjoyed them and he never tooted his own horn," said William B. Whiteford, a retired attorney and friend. "He had a great sense of humor and was always up. When he could no longer play tennis right-handed, he switched and played left-handed. In golf, he had scored four holes-in-one."
In 2005 Mr. Boynton was named to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
While aboard a ship bound for Europe in 1960, Mr. Boynton met his future wife, Elsa Norgaard, a student from Denton, Texas, as the ship passed the State of Liberty. They married the next year.
He joined his father in the Boynton Agency of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company at its office on Redwood Street in downtown Baltimore. He also earned a law degree at the University of Baltimore and was admitted to the Maryland Bar Association.
He ran the insurance agency until his 1997 retirement. Family members said the agency achieved high sales under his stewardship.
"His office door was always open," said Haswell M. Franklin, an insurance colleague. "If you had a problem, you went in and he'd solve your issue immediately. He did not put you off. He would pick up the phone then and there. He was highly respected."
"He never wore his success on his sleeve," said Thomas B. Wheeler, retired chairman and chief executive office of Mass Mutual, who lives in Naples, Fla. "He was modest. He was someone with a nice touch. He had a wonderful way with people. He was competent and meticulous."
Mr. Boynton was president of the Mass Mutual General Agents Association from 1981 to 1982. He also won industry awards and was a board member of the Baltimore Life Underwriters Association. He was a past president of the Baltimore General Agents and Managers Association.
"George is best known as a family man who reared many more than his own three daughters," his wife said. "He was a role model to so many young people. He had a profound impact on the lives of others. He mentored young people and advised them to work for themselves and to always keep your options open. He never said a negative. He mentored through praise. He believed in honesty, integrity, humor, faith, loyalty, patriotism and love of family."
He was a member of Roland Park Presbyterian Church.
Services are private.
In addition to his wife of 54 years, survivors include three daughters, Ingrid Boynton Polk of Towson, Dr. Nicole Boynton Mulder of San Diego, and Allison Boynton Bateman of Vienna, Va.; and six grandchildren.