By Heather Lende

Haines Elk, trucker, and bartender Earl Clause "Boyson" Lammers died of lung cancer Wednesday Oct. 24 in Haines, a month after his brother, former mayor Frank Wallace, succumbed to the same disease. Lammers was 67.

This week friends remembered him as a good listener and loyal friend. "He liked to visit," said Georgeann Smith. "He visited with Leo and I just about every day."

Lammers was kind to animals and a regular dog and cat sitter for traveling friends and family, said nephew David Gross. "If he liked you, he’d give you the shirt off his back."

Nora Krake said that when she needed a ride to Fairbanks, Lammers changed his plans and flew home early from a trip to Anchorage to help her out. "I knew him for 57 years. I was a little like a second mother to him. He was a good friend."

Born in the Army hospital at Chilkoot Barracks May 27, 1940 to Florence Phelps Lammers and Earl George Lammers, he grew up in Haines in a large "yours, mine, and ours" household. He was named Earl, but his mother called him "son" and his sisters called him "boy" and soon the family dubbed him Boyson. The nickname stuck, although he didn’t care for it, introducing himself as Earl.

Lammers parents were both born in Skagway. His father served in the Army in Haines, and later ran a bakery, was garbage man and worked for the territorial road commission. His mother ran a variety store.

Lammers married Merla King Garrison in Nebraska shortly after high school when he was working as a baker. They had three young children when they divorced and he returned to Haines.

His grown sons and daughter met him nine years ago. Cheri Uhlik said it was a happy reconciliation, and that she was close to her father, who called three or four times a week, stayed with the family in Nebraska during his cancer treatments, and whom, she quickly learned was "strong-headed but had a heart of gold."

Lammers owned a bakery on Main Street, drove log trucks, bartended and supported himself as a truck driver on the North Slope. A second marriage, to Coralee Sheldon, niece of Sheldon Museum founder Lib Hakkinen, ended in divorce.

Lammers was a Teamster, volunteer fireman and served as a lifetime member of the Elks Club. Most recently he worked on maintenance projects, including building the small RV park in the lodge parking lot.

Lammers was one of the first male members of the formerly all female Emblem Club. "Boyson liked women," said Georgeann Smith. "I mean that in a good way, he was a gentlemen, but he liked to chat with women more than most men do."

He is survived by sons Kim Yager of Pleasanton, Neb. and Kerry Yager of Grand Isle, Neb.; daughter Cheri Uhlik of Fremont, Neb.; brother Selby "Cork" Wallace of Kearney, Neb., and sister Mary Sue Quintana of Gibbon, Neb. He had seven grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents and brother Frank, brothers Roger Colton, William Wallace and Doug Wallace preceded him in death, as did sisters Patricia Reeves and Shirley Combs, and nephew Brett Wallace.