John G. Boyle was initially from Rochelle, Illinois, where he was born in 1907. When he was a boy, his parents moved to DeKalb. In 1933, he married Zella Fisher, and the following year, John founded what is now known as the Brown Law Group. At the time, the firm specialized in real estate and probate law. Mr. Boyle was instrumental in forming the DeKalb Park District. Earlier in his career, he was the assistant state's attorney in DeKalb County and city attorney for DeKalb. Mr. Boyle was later joined in practice by Charles G. Brown. He retired from active practice in 1987. 

Before his passing in 1996, John established the John G. Boyle Oak Crest Scholarship Fund at the DeKalb County Community Foundation to benefit the employees and their dependents of the Oak Crest – DeKalb Area Retirement Center. The annual scholarship honors John and his desire to provide educational support to future generations.