Emily Remine Boyd

1936 - 2025

Emily Remine Boyd of Interlochen, MI and longtime resident of State College, PA died peacefully at home in the company of her family on April 12, 2025. She was born Emily Joan Remine on March 30, 1936 in Knoxville, TN to Walter and Ila Remine and was married to William (Bill) Lowe Boyd, who preceded her in death. Emily is survived by her children, Stephen Norris Boyd, Katherine Shields Boyd, Anne Boyd Rabkin, son-in-law, Brian Rabkin and granddaughters, Helen Ila and Julia Skye Rabkin.

Emily was a graduate of the University of Tennessee (B.A., 1958) where she was president of Alpha Delta Pi sorority and vice president of the Women's Student Government Association. Emily and Bill met as undergraduate musicians in the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. Emily was a violinist, Bill a French hornist, and they shared a lifelong love of music. Together, they spent more than 50 summers (Emily 68 summers) in leadership roles at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and enjoying Emerald Beach on Green Lake in northern Michigan.

As a child in Tennessee, Emily was an active member of Girl Scout Troop 12 and attended the first Girl Scout camp in the country, Camp Juliette Low, created by the founder of Girl Scouts. This experience was transformational for her and, along with her passion for music, led to her lifelong dedication to the Interlochen Arts Camp where she was Director of the Intermediate Girls Division in the 1960s. When she and Bill arrived at Interlochen in 1957, she knew on the first day that she had found her place. One summer she led the campers to go into the woods with buckets, collect baby sapling trees and plant 60 pine trees that still stand as a forest between the Braeside building and Green Lake on the Interlochen campus.

Emily was an elementary school and music teacher, teaching 5th grade and string orchestra at Crow Island School in Winnetka, IL, while Bill completed his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at the University of Chicago. She taught Suzuki violin at the Winnetka public schools, the Northwestern University Preparatory string department, and later at the Tennessee State University Lab School. Her early success with the Suzuki method inspired others to adopt this pedagogical method and in doing so was a strong spark in its growth in America. Bill Starr, a founder of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, noted her important role in one of his books.

After 10 years at the University of Rochester (NY), the Boyds moved to State College, PA in 1980 where Bill became Batschelet Chair Professor of Educational Leadership at the Pennsylvania State University. Emily worked closely with Bill and helped many of his graduate students, particularly those from other countries, such as helping them find housing, taking them on trips to visit Washington, D.C., and even providing childcare when needed. Emily and family joined Bill on international travels while he served as a Visiting Professor and Lecturer, including time in Australia, the UK, Sweden, Eastern Europe and Asia. The Boyds developed a network of international scholars and friends who have remained in touch over the years.

During summers at Interlochen, Emily served for nearly two decades as host of the Minnesota Building, a lakeside gathering place for faculty, staff, parents, children and visitors. Through decades of service and volunteerism, Emily is beloved by many and known for quickly embracing people's life stories through conversation. Emily had a natural way of extending a sense of belonging to others.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Interlochen, MI this summer. Memorial donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to Interlochen Public Radio or the Annual Fund at the Interlochen Center of the Arts dedicated in her name: https://www.interlochen.org/giving-to-interlochen.