Family and friends of a trailblazing Joliet police detective remember her as a humble yet tough woman whose police work was built on trust with the community.

Maxine Boykin, the first Black female officer for the Joliet Police Department, died Nov. 26 at age 90. Her son, Mark Boykin Sr., 64, said he had been “blessed” with a loving mother.

Mark Boykin said he remembers in the winter of 1969, when there was a “real bad storm” and there was so much snow that his mother would put him on a sled and pull him to his grandmother’s house.

She then would keep walking to work.

“And then after she got off work, she’d come to pick me up and pull me all the way back home again,” Boykin said.

He said Maxine spoiled him. She took him to a summer camp in Wisconsin and paid tuition for him to attend private schools.

But Boykin said she also was strict with him. It was either her way or the highway, and “there was no highway,” he said.

Maxine taught Boykin to adopt a strong work ethic, learn the value of family, and to have a relationship with God through Christianity.

“She also taught me to be strong – you know, not to let anybody walk over me,” Boykin said.

Maxine would not let anyone walk over her. Tammy Smith, Maxine’s niece, said that when someone at the police department said something “slick” to her aunt, she would confront them one-on-one.

“She would corner that person, and she would let them know, ‘You ever pull that with me again, it’s not gonna be nice,’ ” Smith said.

Maxine made history on Feb. 2, 1963, when she became the first Black female officer for the department. She “navigated the storms of racism and sexism” with steady courage, while combining compassion with an “exacting sense of duty,” according to her obituary.

In 2000, Maxine retired from the police department. Her badge number was 401.

Boykin said he wanted to become a police officer, but his mother wouldn’t let him.

“She didn’t want me to have to experience what she went through. Even though I did experience it in my own career,” he said.

Boykin said he didn’t think his mother had grown up wanting to become a police officer, but she saw it as an opportunity for a better life. He said he believes his mother was “handpicked” because she was known for her toughness.

“She was a fighter. Literally,” he said.

Rick Moore, 82, a retired Joliet police watch commander lieutenant, remembers Maxine as a “fantastic person.” During their time on the force, they became “almost like family,” he said.

“She was just a great person, a good human being. And she wouldn’t take any crap from anybody, either,” Moore said.

Moore said Maxine was involved in the investigation of juvenile cases, and she also was adept at interviewing victims of crime. He said she was an asset to the police department.

Smith said Maxine told her once about a murder investigation that was solved because of her relationship with the community.

“They trusted her,” she said.

A passion that Maxine and Moore shared was cooking. Boykin said she was an “amazing cook.”

Moore remembers how Maxine would cook catfish in the kitchen inside the Joliet Fire Department.

“She could make catfish to die for,” Moore said.

Boykin said his mother also was a loving grandmother to his children, as well as a great sister, a great aunt and a great friend.

Boykin said he’s still learning about the positive impact his mother had on people’s lives. Smith said Maxine never boasted about what she did for others.

“She was always there for a lot of people you didn’t even know. She wasn’t one to toot her own horn,” Smith said.

Boykin said if people needed something, his mother would help. And if she couldn’t help, she would find someone who could.

“But she was going to get it done for you,” Boykin said. “That’s the type of person she was.”