Jerry Don Boydstun

Jerry Don Boydstun was born on March 16,1946, in Burkburnett, Texas, to Inez (Best) Boydstun and William Ernest Boydstun, Jr., and died in Longview, Texas, on July 30, 2025. He is survived by his wife, Deborah Ann Boydstun of Longview and his son, Stephen Parton and wife Christen and granddaughter Claire Grace Parton of White Oak, Texas, his sister, Diann Roberts of Duncan, Oklahoma, his Aunt Rosa Tidwell and cousin Joe Best of Comanche, Oklahoma, and many more beloved cousins on both sides of the family. Jerry Don grew up in North Texas and when he was nine years old, he moved to Stephens County, Oklahoma, where he lived until 1964 when he graduated from Velma-Alma High School. He was an avid sports enthusiast and played varsity basketball and track. In August of 1964 Jerry Don joined the United States Army and after basic training he was assigned to study Russian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California where he graduated in September of 1965 as a Russian linguist. He was then stationed in Chitose, Japan, where he served as a Russian linguist for the next two and one-half years. After being honorably discharged from the service he moved to San Francisco, California, and began working for the Veterans Administration until he was accepted as a student by the University of California in nearby Berkeley. In June of 1975 he graduated with a degree in Slavic Languages and Literature. Jerry Don remained proud of his connection with the University of California for the rest of his life. After graduation he moved to the Midland-Odessa area of Texas where he began working in the field of engineering using computer-aided plant design. For the next forty years he worked for various engineering firms in Midland, Odessa, San Antonio, Palestine, Abilene, Longview and Anchorage, Alaska. In 1997 he met his beloved wife, Deborah, while living in Palestine, Texas. They were married on July 25, 1998, in Palestine and moved to Longview in 2000 where they have lived ever since. Jerry Don spent most of that time working at the Texas Eastman Chemical Complex while Deborah taught school for the Pine Tree School District. Jerry Don loved languages and could speak, read and write Russian and Spanish and knew conversational Japanese. He loved reading, especially history, and in particular, history of the War Between the States. He was very active in several Southern Heritage organizations. He loved all animals, and his dogs were especially dear to him. A memorial service for Mr. Boydstun will be held on Saturday, August 16, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at White Oak Community Church. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the service. Cremation arrangements have been entrusted to Horn-Nail-Haggard Funeral Home.