Thomas M. Boyd

Boyd, Thomas M. ALBANY Thomas Maurice Boyd (USN Retired), 77, died at home on Thursday, November 22, 2007 after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer. Born in Philadelphia, Pa., he was the son of Maurice Thomas Boyd and Rose Ellen (McSorley) Boyd. He graduated from Roman Catholic High School in 1948. He was a career Navy man, enlisting in 1948, and he was a member of one of the first teams trained for nuclear submarine service at West Milton and in a special program at Union College. He was an engineer on both diesel and nuclear-powered subs: the Caiman, the Sea Wolf, the Skipjack, the Jallao, and the Sea Lion. He was a teacher at the Sub School in New London, Conn. Mr. Boyd was a veteran of the Korean War. He retired as a lieutenant in 1970 after 22 years with the Navy and subsequently worked as a consultant for nuclear power plant safety, most notably assisting with the containment of the Three Mile Island plant meltdown in 1979. A onetime resident of Saratoga Springs, he and Patricia lived first in Tarpon Springs and then Palm City, Fla. from 1981 until very recently. He was a generous, fun and devoted husband, dad, and grandpa, who was regularly moved to tears by his pride in his family. He was thrilled with his daughters' choices of husbands and loved his sons-in-law dearly. He was an avid and skilled golfer and loved to sing. He had belonged to the SPEBQSA (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America) and had participated in barbershop quartet-singing shows. He is survived by his wife, Patricia (Harrington) Boyd of Albany; three daughters, JoAnne Boyd of Albany, Pamela Muth (James) of Santa Ana, Calif. and Kathleen Ross (Michael) of Westford, Mass.; three brothers, Francis and Maurice Boyd, both of Bremerton, Wash. and John Boyd of Lancaster, Pa. He leaves three adoring and adored granddaughters, Genevieve, Katherine and Madeline Ross, all of Westford, Mass.; and a niece and three nephews. He also leaves behind three family pooches who will miss their human papa. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in St. Teresa of Avila Church, 435 New Scotland Ave., Albany. Burial will take place in the Gerald B.H. Solomon, Saratoga National Cemetery, Schuylerville, NY at 12 noon. Relatives and friends are invited. Those who wish may send memorial contributions to the Community Hospice of Albany, 445 New Karner Rd., Albany, NY 12205 or to the American Cancer Society, 260 Osborne Rd., Loudonville, NY 12211.