Hundreds of mourners filled the Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cruz Bay Saturday to remember the life of Capt. Clifton Ashley Boynes. Boynes — a former vocational teacher and military veteran — joined his family doing business in the marine transportation industry and later started his own ferry services.

Boynes was 83 years old at the time of his death at the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital on Dec. 15, 2025. Funeral services took place steps away from the Cruz Bay ferry terminal, named after Loredon Lorence Boynes, his father.

The Boynes family, alongside the family of the late St. John business owner Rodney Varlack, pioneered ferry service between St. Thomas and St. John starting in the 1960s. Dozens of boat captains donned their formal dress uniforms to honor the man many viewed as a relative and a mentor.

His duties as operations manager once led to controversy, as Boynes became the subject of a federal trial in the mid 1990s, accused of polluting Cruz Bay Harbor. The case ended in an acquittal.

On the evening after the last rites, daughter Laurie Boynes spoke about a stern but loving father who shared his love of the sea with those who meant the most to him. “He taught many captains — Camile Parris, the former administrator; Clifton Boynes, Jr — his son, Calvin Thomas. My dad’s legacy and history is deeply rooted on St. John,” she said.

And although she was too young to study for her captain’s license, two-year-old granddaughter Chardonnay was also welcomed aboard, Laurie said. The daughter told the story of a toddler who insisted she could go along for the ride.

“Can she go to the bathroom by herself?” the grandfather asked. When told that she could, Boynes told his daughter, “Well, then put on her shoes — let’s go.”

The pair became regular partners at sea, Laurie said, and the child would be upset on the days when she could not go.

Ashley worked for Transportation Services — the family business — from the 1970s until 2004, and founded Inter Island Ferry Service in 1981. When failing health set in, family members stepped in to run the business.

And in his final days, the captain grew less talkative, Laurie said, but when he did speak, he told stories of his days at sea, “and he talked about his involvement in the marine industry.”

With emergency rooms across the territory face increasing strain, Senate Vice President Kenneth L. Gittens is calling for an emergency meeting with the Territorial Hospital Board and the chief executive officers of both Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix and Governor Roy L. Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas, citing mounting operational, financial, and workforce challenges.

In a statement released this week, Gittens said the Legislature has heard growing public concerns for months, including extended emergency room wait times, staffing shortages, supply shortfalls, aging equipment, delayed payroll, and deteriorating working conditions. Those concerns have sharpened in recent weeks following public advisories from hospital leadership warning residents of overwhelmed emergency departments and prolonged waits for care.

On St. Thomas, Schneider Regional Medical Center (SRMC) recently acknowledged those pressures in a social media post advising the community that its Emergency Department was operating at full capacity, even as staff continued to provide care under heavy patient volumes. The advisory underscored the daily demands facing front-line healthcare workers as hospitals attempt to manage patient flow with limited resources.

The capacity warning came about a week before a notable achievement for SRMC: the hospital recently earned full accreditation from The Joint Commission, a nationally recognized organization that evaluates healthcare institutions on patient safety, quality of care, and compliance with rigorous operational standards. According to a recent news release, the accreditation reflects a comprehensive review process, including on-site evaluations of clinical practices, safety protocols, leadership oversight, and organizational performance. Hospital leadership described the designation as validation of the staff’s commitment to meeting national benchmarks and delivering safe, high-quality care to the community.

At the same time, both lawmakers and hospital employees have emphasized that accreditation, while significant, does not resolve longstanding systemic challenges. Staffing shortages, financial instability, and operational pressures — particularly in emergency departments — continue to affect day-to-day hospital performance. Gittens said the Legislature has repeatedly stepped in with appropriations to keep essential services operational, but stressed that financial support must be matched with accountability, transparency, and effective management.

“We do not have a money problem; we have a money management problem,” Gittens said, adding that the requested meeting would allow for confidential discussion of sensitive financial, personnel, and operational matters without compromising patient privacy, employee protections, or ongoing negotiations. The goal, he said, is to identify immediate needs, evaluate leadership decisions, and determine what legislative actions may be necessary ahead of the Governor’s upcoming State of the Territory Address.

“Our hospitals are critical lifelines for our community,” Gittens said. “The people deserve a healthcare system that works, employees deserve respect and reliability, and taxpayers deserve accountability.”