Susan Boyd

Mrs. Susan Eileen Tracy Boyd, 76, of Ellicott City, MD, passed away peacefully on February 13, 2026. Born on June 5, 1949, in Ellicott City, Maryland, she was the daughter of the late Charles Tracy and Mabel (Jones) Tracy. She graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1971. Susan enjoyed 51 years of close and loving marriage to the late Dr. William Boyd, filled with laughter, adventures, and friendly competition.
Sue was an adventurer and entrepreneur. She co founded and ran College Bound, a tour company that organized college visits for prospective students, and later opened her own travel agency, A Wing and a Prayer. Her later career focused on fund-raising for institutions that bettered the world: Howard County General Hospital (now the Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center), the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Towson University and more. Throughout these years, she and Bill, and often their children, traveled the world, embracing adventures across the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and South America. She joined an archaeological dig in Israel, cruised the Amazon River, rode horses through Arizona, baked on the beaches of Jamaica, and sang in the halls of English cathedrals. Most notably, she spent several years in Rwanda volunteering for One Egg, an organization devoted to eradicating protein deficiency in children.
Throughout her life, Susan devoted herself to helping others-knitting dolls for children in need, driving unhoused individuals to job interviews and appointments, building houses through church groups, leading her daughter's Girl Scout troop, raising funds for community organizations, and volunteering wherever she was needed. In retirement, she doubled down on service, spending nearly full time hours at Christian Women, a thrift store supporting those in need.
Susan is most remembered for her laughter. She delighted in the absurd, the silly, the pun, the goof. She and Bill shared an extraordinary circle of friends who reveled in joyful fun-topsy turvy talent shows, wild Twelfth Night Tacky Parties, sneaky lawn ornament swaps, and more. Susan had a remarkable creative spirit: drawing, knitting, sewing, painting, baking, gardening, and more. She shared her talents freely with her family, friends, and the wider world.
She is survived by her her son, Stephen Boyd (Inna); her daughter, Jessica Boyd (Eric); brother, Charles "Chuck" Tracy II (Charlotte); her grandchildren, Elizabeth and Alexis; and close family friends Joselyne Muko (Brian), Mike Mugisha, and Lincoln Turnof, along with many nieces, nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
A memorial service and luncheon reception will be held Saturday, March 7 at 11 AM at Bethany United Methodist Church, 2875 Bethany Lane, Ellicott City, Maryland.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Greater Maryland Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.