William Earl Boyd Ph.D.

1930 - 2017

William Earl

Boyd, Ph.D.

October 2, 1930 ~ April 8, 2017

Bill, Dad, Papa passed peacefully Saturday night, surrounded by family and friends.

Born in Oakland, CA, at age five he was recruited for a role in the popular "Our Gang" comedies. His parents decided it would not be a good way for a boy to grow up and declined the offer. It was the last critical decision that anyone else made for him.

He spent a lot of his young life in Denver before moving to Kelso, Washington where he graduated from Kelso High School and met the love of his life, Joan Coulter. They were married in 1950 and still very much in love 67 years later.

His working career had many facets and turns; some out of necessity, some out of ambition. He worked in the family bakery, and due to the labor shortage during the war, he was managing a gas station at the age of thirteen. After high school he was a surveyor for the highway department and supplemented his growing family's budget working as a longshoreman on the docks in Longview.

His need for personal growth took him to the University of Colorado and then to the University of Washington where in 1959 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with teaching credentials. After attending University, Bill taught high school English for one year, after which, in 1960, he started his 23 year career with the Boeing company. While at Boeing he worked in Human Resources, Project Management and New Business Development. He remained active in education, teaching night and weekend courses in Project Management, Personnel Administration, and Speed Reading. He left the Boeing Company to become VP-CEO of Talley Educational Services, providing education and vocational training. He then returned to the UW where he earned a Ph.D in Policy, Governance and Administration.

Bill retired in 1990 and he and Joan bought a small ranch outside of Heppner, OR. There they entertained friends and a growing extended family, while raising beef cattle and indulging their love of horses and riding. Evenings could find Bill leaning against the pasture fence sharing a cocktail with his favorite pet/horse Cheyenne. They both liked bourbon on the rocks, and both had one foot up on the bottom rail of the fence. He was fond of joking "I had it right when I was 7 years old. I just wanted to play cowboy."

Throughout all of this, Bill's priority was Joan and the kids. The extra jobs, the ambition, the hard work and sacrifice provided for the family he and Joan raised. He taught study skills and life skills. He helped with homework. He coached little league teams and led camping expeditions. He was a rock in an uncertain world for six people he loved unconditionally. His passing leaves a void in the lives of all who knew him. He is survived by his wife, Joan Boyd, his children, Ann Boyd, Bill and Toni Boyd, Daniel and Barbara Boyd, Robert and Diana Boyd, Jane and Mark Porter and 9 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers remembrances should made to the Union Gospel Mission, because, in Bill's words "they provide food to people who are hungry". The family would like to thank the staff at Harborview Medical Center for their compassionate care during the final hours.