Frederick Perry Boynton III

Frederick Perry Boynton III
March 4, 1935 - January 10, 2022
La Jolla
Frederick Perry Boynton III, passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of January 10, 2022 at the age of 86, surrounded by his loving wife Beverly and sons William and Richard.
Fred was born in Evanston, Illinois, on March 4, 1935, the firstborn son of Margaret LaShelle Boynton and Frederick Perry Boynton, Jr. He spent his younger years in Highland Park, Illinois, and moved with his family to Kansas City, Missouri where he attended Pembroke Country Day School. At Pembroke Country Day, Fred lettered in Football and Track and Field (shot put), sang in the choir, and graduated as the valedictorian of his class.
During Fred's senior year, his family moved to Brazil, where he spent three summers with his family. Following high school, Fred attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut where he majored in Chemistry and graduated with High Honors. While at Wesleyan, Fred lettered in Football and Track and Field (hammer throw), pledged Psi Upsilon, and sang in the Choral Society. Fred was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa society in 1955. In 1956, while Fred was at Wesleyan, Fred's parents moved from Brazil to La Jolla, California, introducing Fred to the location that would later become his home.
After graduating from Wesleyan, Fred attended graduate school at Stanford University where he earned a master's degree in Chemical Engineering, with a thesis on heat transfer in reacting systems. While at Stanford, Fred spent the summer of 1957 working at Convair Astronautics in San Diego to solve a base heating problem on Atlas missiles. Upon graduation, Fred returned to San Diego to work for Convair on plume signatures for early warning systems and base heating for Apollo rockets. Over the course of several years he became a "nationally recognized authority" in the field, publishing a number of technical papers on that and other subjects. While at Convair, he established a life-long friendship with Alex Thomson, who would become his technical mentor.
Fred was a member of the Bachelor Club of San Diego, which he described as a group of single men dedicated to meeting single women. Through the Bachelor Club, Fred met Beverly Christenson, whom he married in 1967. Two years later, they moved to Grosse Pointe, Michigan where Fred joined a research institute at Wayne State University and earned a PHD in Chemical Engineering. While living in Grosse Pointe, Fred and Beverly had their two sons William Leavenworth Boynton and Richard Lashelle Boynton.
At Wayne State, Fred helped to set up DARPA's plume physics program. Shortly after earning his PhD, Fred joined Physical Dynamics, a newly formed company which moved to Berkeley, California in 1972 and later to La Jolla in 1978. With Physical Dynamics, Fred continued to work on exhaust plume signature studies and helped to lay the groundwork for some procedures later used in the Strategic Defense Initiative. In 1986, Fred went to work at SAIC, where he worked until his retirement.
Fred's family had a long history of sailing and he learned to race sailboats while on a summer vacation on Nantucket in 1950. Fred developed a love of sailing that would last a lifetime. In 1962, Fred purchased a Finn and participated in several national and North American championship regattas. He participated in the Finn Class Olympic Trials in 1964 and 1968 (serving as the Fleet Chairman for the 1968 trials held at Mission Bay Yacht Club where he was a member). While living in the Bay Area, he was an active member of the Saint Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. After giving up the Finn, Fred enjoyed summer cruises to Catalina with his family on his Fisher 30 and sailing along the California coast, taking trips as far as San Francisco.
Fred was a member of the Twelve Thirty Club of La Jolla and sang in the choir at St. James Episcopal Church for 40 years.
A scholar of history, in retirement Fred wrote Tales Form the Annals of America, a collection of little known facts from early American History. Fred was nearing completion of a second book about science and religion when he was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. He bravely battled the ensuing complications for two and a half years. His passing leaves a void for those who loved and knew him and he will be greatly missed.
Fred was predeceased by his brothers George and David. He is survived by Beverly, his wife of 54 years, his brother Peter (Jacqueline), and his sons William and Richard as well as their wives Penelope and Christina, and his four grandchildren Jack, Colin, Owan, and Tyler. He also leaves behind his sister-in-law Pamela Boynton and nieces Cynthia, Stephanie, Nicole, Carly, and Lindy.
Funeral services will be held at 2:30 PM on Saturday March 12, 2022 at St James Episcopal Church in La Jolla. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. James Organ Fund, 743 Prospect Street, La Jolla, California, 92037 (858-459-3421).

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