Curtis Wesley Boyce

On December 23, 2024, Curtis Wesley Boyce met his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the gates of Heaven, where Curt fell prostrate in worship and praise at the feet of his Savior who picked him up and said, “Well done, good and faithful servant, welcome home.”

Curt was born into a fun, loving, Christian family in Escondido, CA. He grew up doing mazes (creating his own as he got older), playing games indoors and out. Softball and croquet were a few favorites in his backyard. Summer evenings were spent playing Kick-the-Can with all the kids in the neighborhood. Curt also enjoyed riding his Stingray bike along the many trails in the dirt field behind his house. He excelled at the bike jump that he and a few of the boys created. It seems he always enjoyed catching some air. Many of you are familiar with his success at high jumping. He favored the Fosbury flop made famous by Dick Fosbury in the 1968 Olympics. Another unique thing about Curt is that he bought his first computer in 1977, a Commodore PET. He and neighbor, Steve Branin, figured out how to write their own programs. So yes, his love of computer language started in his bedroom as a 12-year-old boy.

Curt’s parents took the family on many camping trips to the mountains and deserts of California. They also attended an annual church “Family Camp” that may have influenced his later leadership in Trail Life. Frequent trips to the beach in his life gave Curt the opportunity to become athletic in the surf. He excelled at body surfing, skim boarding and bodyboarding. He loved the beach so much that he chose the beach to propose to Sarah.

Curt met the love of his life, Sarah, at NASA JSC in Houston, TX, where her cubicle was across the aisle. Curt told friends in CA that he had met a girl more sarcastic than himself and thought he better marry her! He probably should’ve added that she was a nerd just like him. They kept each other entertained with their sarcastic humor and nerdiness for more than 30 years of marriage.

Continuing his love for mind-bending puzzles and mazes, Curt received his undergraduate degree in Computer Science at San Diego State University and later received a master’s degree in Computer Science at North Carolina State University. Ironically, both schools shared the same colors: red, white and black, Curt’s favorite color scheme.

In grad school, Curt took great delight in his research project for augmented reality, which merged two of his favorite things: mazes and robots. The project included building a maze in his dining room and writing software to navigate a robot through the maze. A user remotely navigated the robot through the maze while the robot identified objects. Many coworkers and friends enjoyed coming over to operate the robot.

Curt’s illustrious career included software roles at NASA JSC and NASA Ames as well as Lockheed Martin and GSK. He enjoyed writing software for space shuttle simulators and the wind tunnel where they tested a reproduction of the Wright Flyer for the 100 year anniversary. Many coworkers called him “The Gentle Giant” and commented about how intelligent Curt was, as well as kind and helpful. Later in his career, he became obsessed with the Agile management scheme about which he and Sarah had several fun discussions.

Having a very adventurous and thrill-seeking spirit, Curt enjoyed activities such as Bungee jumping, roller coasters, body surfing, skim boarding, high jumping, as well as climbing Half Dome and Ayer’s Rock. Curt and Sarah loved to travel all over the U. S., including several trips to Yosemite, his absolute favorite! They created many beautiful memories traveling to Australia (honeymoon), New Zealand, England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.

Curt’s family was the light of his world! He was an amazing, hands-on dad. He did ALL the things with his kids, Wesley and Kalyn, including activities such as Trail Life, coaching soccer and basketball, Y Guides, Rockmont summer camp, volunteering at school, and even homeschool lessons. Curt passed his adventurous spirit to his kids and taught them how to snow ski, body surf, skim board, ride roller coasters, hike and camp. He loved snow skiing with his family and laughed when they beat him down the hill – every time!

Dabbling in art, playing board games and being a foodie were other passions for Curt. His art started out as mostly landscapes but had recently progressed to modern whimsical works. He won third place in an employee art contest, and he sold that piece, which thrilled him. Curt and his family were avid board game players, spending hours playing everything from Catan to Throw, Throw Burrito. Curt relished international foods and would eat anything and everything. His favorite was Mexican, especially fish tacos from Rubio’s. In-N-Out Burger was another favorite and when he wore his In-N-Out t-shirt, he was often stopped by other fans (even in NC, although the closest one is thousands of miles away)!

Curt leaves behind his wife, Sarah, 18-year-old son, Wesley and 16-year-old daughter, Kalyn. He’s also survived by his dad, Gordon, and his two sisters, Julie (son, Eric and wife, Regan) and Donna (husband, Jim and two daughters, Amber and Katie with husband Cody and two great-nephews ). In addition he leaves behind a large extended family and numerous close friends. Curt never met a stranger and never met a person who didn’t immediately warm to his gentle, loving spirit. He is gone too soon and will be greatly missed!

Family received friends on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 11:00 am at The Shepherd's Church in Cary. A Memorial Service began at 12 Noon at church. For those that were unable to attend - here is the link to the church's video of the service: https://youtu.be/yscDEKWBx8o

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to SECU Hospice House of Johnston Health.

If you would like to leave a favorite memory/story of Curt or a message of condolence to his family, you may do so below within "Add a Memory".