Richard A. "Rich" Boyd

Richard (Rich) Alan Boyd, 53 of Boise, passed away at home surrounded by family and friends on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 after battling brain cancer for over nine years. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, December 29, at 11:00 at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 2981 East Boise Avenue, Boise, followed by burial at Morris Hill Cemetery, and a celebration of Rich's life at the Basque Center. Arrangements are under the direction of Summers Funeral Homes, Boise Chapel. Rich was born November 3, 1956, at Boise, Idaho, the youngest of five children of Francis and Marie Boyd. He spent his childhood growing up on Aldape Heights where he had numerous adventures with the Aldape Heights gang. His childhood days were full of large family gatherings due to his Basque ancestry and family outings to water ski at Lucky Peak Rich attended Roosevelt Grade School, East Junior High and Boise High School. He was a standout athlete in both junior high and high school and was particularly proud of his Boise High football accomplishments, playing defensive end and being selected for the Idaho Statesman All-City Football Team in 1974. Rich also received the National Merit Foundation's Letter of Commendation. Rich had an incredible group of friends from Boise High with whom he remained close through the years. Rich graduated from the University of Idaho in 1980. He was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity where he met many lifelong friends. He enjoyed his college years to the fullest. Rich met Janice Royston through mutual friends in May, 1981 at Tom Graineys in downtown Boise. They married on March 19, 1983. Son Ryan was born in 1987 and daughter Jillian in 1990. Rich grew up in the grocery business, working at Consumer's Grocery on 10th and Jefferson, owned by his father and uncle. After graduating from the U of I, he worked at his father's store until 1986, when he went to work at M & W stores. He continued with his education, taking computer programming classes at BSU until he went to work as a computer programmer with Albertsons in 1989. Rich was a valued employee working for 20 years for Albertsons/SuperValu where he earned numerous exceptional service awards. Rich had a passion for helping his co-workers and continually amazed them with his ability to remember minute details. His years at Albertsons were very happy times, working with many wonderful people. Fridays were often spent eating out with his co-workers at Big Judd's or Mongolian BBQ. Rich was devoted to his family. He stepped up for any job needed for his kids, including soccer coach, little league baseball umpire, and chief ski instructor. They spent many weekends skiing where on at least one occasion his family had to rescue him from a tree well. He loved to watch his children play soccer. He was a wonderful cook, especially known for his crabbies and chocolate chip cookies, and made many memorable family dinners. Rich's favorite activities included golfing, going to movies, watching TV with his family, playing poker and bridge, and spending time in McCall playing volleyball and water skiing. He was fortunate to take two unforgettable trips to Alaska with his son Ryan, his dad, brother John and nephew Johnny. He also thoroughly enjoyed family trips to Yellowstone, Disneyland and cruising the Mexican Riviera. Rich took special golf trips to Myrtle Beach with friends and to the Monterey Peninsula with family. He was lucky enough to hit a hole-in-one on Cedar's 6th hole on the McCall course in 2008. Rich was gifted in remembering facts and trivia. He was an avid reader, enjoying a variety of genres, from Robert Ludlum to Harry Potter to Pat Conroy. Rich had a competitive spirit, much like his mother. He played to win whether it was cards, trivial pursuit, or the parents vs. kids soccer games. Like his father, Rich loved to dance, especially at weddings. He loved the Vandals and he and Janice enjoyed a spirited U of I -BSU rivalry through the years. Rich had a contagious sense of humor. He especially enjoyed the Boyd family Christmas gag gift tradition, which was his chief responsibility during the holiday season. Rich was a master of one-liners and enjoyed telling jokes. He was a sweet bear of a man who you couldn't help but love. Rich never did anything halfway. He was a wonderful husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend. Rich is survived by his wife Janice, two children, Ryan and Jillian, father Francis Boyd, brothers Jim (Jeannene) Boyd and John (Sharon) Boyd, sisters Anne (Glenn) Miller and Sandy (Tom) Bishop; sister-in law Phyllis Royston, brother-in-law Rick (Sharon) Royston, and mother-in-law Lois Royston; aunts Carmen Dobaran, Pilar Dobaran, Lydia Mendiola, Arvella Dobaran, and uncle James M. (Elsie) Boyd, and best friend Alan Gummersall. He had 16 nieces and nephews who dearly loved their Uncle Richie. He was preceded in death by his mother Marie Dobaran Boyd and father-in-law William Royston. Special thanks for all their loving care of Rich during his illness to Dr. John Gamboa, Maggie and staff at the Cancer Center of Idaho; Dr. Norman Zuckerman, Christine and staff at MSTI; Boise Memorial Hospice; and Caring Hands Home Health and especially Gena Suarez, whose gift for caring will never be forgotten. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Basque Center, Basque Museum, the University of Idaho Foundation, Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, or your favorite charity.