Myra E. Boitos
Myra E. Boitos, age 102, a resident of Colorado Springs since 1950, and formerly of Los Angeles, California, and Detroit, Michigan, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at her home. She was a professional pianist, and piano and organ teacher.
Myra Elmina Zager was born on May 4, 1910 in Glasgow, Missouri, to Christian and Fredrica (Zieman) Zager. Reverend Zager’s first church was the former church of the United Brethren on Uintah, and that was what first exposed her to the beauty of Colorado Springs. She was a 1928 graduate of Colorado Springs High School and graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit, and the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. In the late 1930s-early 1940s, Myra was a pianist for two “Torch Singers”: Tony Martin and Kay Armen. During this time she was also the accompanist for the renowned Hungarian solo violinist Artur Maabe in Detroit and Los Angeles. She toured with the Detroit Symphony and taught at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She played with various orchestras and bands in the area and also was the pianist in the Penrose Room of the Broadmoor, and later at the Golden Bee.
She married Jack Boitos, her greatest love, on April 8, 1944 in Detroit, Michigan. Jack passed away on November 7, 1967.
She is survived by her son: James Alan (Sarah) Boitos of Kenney, Illinois; and a granddaughter: Nicole M. Boitos of Vienna, Austria. She is also survived by her niece, Myra Ruth Ditch of Bartonville, Illinois. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; and her brother, Reverend Herbert R. Zager.
Myra was a member of the Detroit Federation of Musicians and the American Federation of Musicians for over 50 years, and will be best remembered for her complete and total devotion to the teaching and performance and love of music. Blessed with the work ethic of a true Pioneer, Myra Boitos lived and breathed her craft with passion. She instilled the love and appreciation of music to all of her students, and they have continued to extend her legacy. Many of them have provided music for all of the area’s melodramas, from Bob Young’s Cabaret, to the Iron Springs Chateau, to the Imperial Hotel in Cripple Creek.
A musical celebration of her life will be held in Colorado Springs next Spring. Memorials in Mrs. Boitos’ memory may be made to the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, 610 Abbott Lane, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80905. The family also wishes to express deep gratitude to Myra’s caregiver, Katherine Watkins, for the compassion and shelter during her last days.
She will be sorely missed. What a Mom, what a “GrandB”, what a pianist, what a teacher, exceptionally and totally dedicated to the art of Music!