New Marian Boehm Memorial Bowling Tournament to Benefit Sights for Hope
The inaugural Marian Boehm Memorial Bowlers for Sight Tournament, presented by BowlerX, will roll into action on Saturday, June 6, at Steel City Bowl & Brews in Bethlehem, PA, to benefit Sights for Hope.
Sights for Hope and Marian Boehm’s family have organized the tournament to honor her lifelong love of bowling and years of volunteer service to the former Lehigh Valley Braille Guild. Marian passed away on November 25.
With a thoughtful twist to traditional play, the tournament will use a unique format in which teams of four people will bowl two games from 1-3 p.m. and a Sights for Hope client will bowl a bonus frame with each team. The client’s one-frame score will be added to the team’s grand total. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three teams. The event will also include a 50-50 drawing and an appearance by PBA bowler Owen Darby, the 2025 Pennsylvania State USBC Masters tournament champion.
Registration fees are $80.00 for teams of four bowlers and $20.00 for individuals. Registrations should be made online in advance. Sponsorship opportunities remain available. Additional sponsors committed to date are Inova Technologies; Buckno, Lisicky & Company; Peoples Security Bank & Trust; Remmel Opticians; St. Luke’s University Health Network; and Working Dog Press.
Marian Boehm was popular among her many friends and family members for her delicious strawberry pies, beautiful flower gardens, sharp sense of humor, and love of various types of games – including bowling, in which she excelled. Marian volunteered for many years for the former Braille guild, for which she translated countless books into Braille. Marian and her late husband, Marvin, previously owned two businesses in Emmaus, PA.
“Bowling and helping people who are blind or visually impaired were two of Marian’s greatest passions,” said Jeffrey Dutt, Marian Boehm’s son-in-law. “Partnering with Sights for Hope allows us to celebrate Marian’s life in a way that reflects her kindness, generosity, and the joy she brought to others.”
The volunteer-led Lehigh Valley Braille Guild was established in 1966 in affiliation with the Lehigh County Blind Association, the organization which consolidated with its Northampton County counterpart in 2010 to form what is now Sights for Hope. The guild’s members translated books and publications into Braille, originally through manual typing. At its peak, the guild was one of the best-known American groups of its kind, with dozens of volunteers who would devote up to 1,000 hours a week to their work. The guild dissolved officially in 2013.
Image: A person wearing an aqua blue and white bowling shirt stands in a bowling alley. The back of the shirt shows a logo that reads “2026 Marian Boehm Memorial Bowlers for Sight Tournament Presented by BowlerX.”