Robert Lee Boyd

Robert Lee Boyd passed away peacefully on December 20, 2025, in Durham, North Carolina, surrounded by his loved ones.
He was a husband, a father, a grandfather, a Navy sailor, an Army soldier, a restaurant owner, the greatest bowler of all time (indisputable), an audiophile, a prolific giver of nicknames, a committed lover of confectionaries, and a weaver and dreamer of ideas.
From 1959–1963, Robert served in the U.S. Navy, traveling the world and collecting stories. He discovered his love of Pugliese bread in Italy, acquired a tattoo he hid for life underneath long-sleeve shirts, and proudly kept a photograph of Princess Grace of Monaco taken from the USS Independence. From 1964–1980, he served in the U.S. Army, completing two tours in Vietnam and receiving the Bronze Star along with other honors. He returned with a bride and two children, eventually expanding the family to form a nomadic army of eight.
Family life carried them through Germany, Virginia, Kansas, and Florida before they put down roots in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. There, Robert and his wife opened Bay's, Sylva's first Pan-Asian restaurant, later reimagined as Bay's Corner, a takeout concept that ran for 20 years and was ahead of its time. With a fast-casual, made-to-order assembly line of fresh ingredients, they nourished the small town they loved. Robert built a home on a mountaintop with a koi pond for his wife, Bay, and together they forged lifelong friendships that they carried with them when they later moved closer to their children and grandchildren in central North Carolina.
Robert, the family mischief-maker and contrarian, loved poking his children and grandchildren into political debates - producing smiles and groans in equal measure - and into offbeat conversations that pushed them to explore strange new worlds and to boldly go where no man has gone before. Beneath that familiar, sometimes-maddening, always-loving ritual was a man shaped by a difficult childhood, with the lasting imprint of military life and war. The debates, daydreams, and unconventional thinking he sparked live on in his children and grandchildren, along with his off-kilter humor, sharp wit, and constant devotion to keeping things straight and orderly - from the perfectly made beds to blown leaves to neatly organized junk drawers. Civilian life, the Carolina mountains, and the grace of grandchildren softened him. In the end, he found peace, forgiveness, redemption, and salvation through his faith in Christ.
Robert's loving memory lives on in the hearts of family and friends both near and far. He is survived by his devoted wife of 55 years, Bay; his six children: Diem "Piglet," Thuy "Mouse" (Tim), Bobby "Rootie" (Michelle), Blythe "Hessy," Lael "Scooter" (Mandy), and Joel "Skoggs" (Shamekia); and his eight beloved grandchildren: Lula, Tobias, Grace, Lily, Spady, Ezra, Ava, and Una. He always held in his heart: Robert "Tyke"; Robin "Spunky"; Lynn "Sparky" and his children, Lyndon and Logan; Rebecca "Becky" and her children, Jennacca, John, and Xavier; and Jennacca's child, Aria. He was preceded in death by his mother, Sarah Shemwell; his loving sisters, Katie Jones and Lenora "Janie" Adams; and his nieces, Mary Louise "Winkie" Daniel and Andrea M. Jones.
In true Robert fashion, he would want the last word: Keep things straight and tidy, hook that ball and hit the pocket, and never underestimate the importance of a good loaf of chewy bread slathered with butter shared with people you love.
Celebration of Life on Saturday, January 3, 2026 at 2:00PM.
At the Home of the Brooks' Family in Durham, NC
Please contact the family for details.
In place of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Smile Train, or Tunnel to Towers in honor of Robert Boyd.