Martin Vernon Boyd

Martin is predeceased by his wife, Joan Louise Gross Boyd; a daughter, Karen Louise Boyd; his brother, Ivan Olaf Boyd; his sisters, Lillian Beatrice Boyd and Muriel Beatrice Boyd, who died in childhood; and his parents, Martin Olaf Boyd and Ellen Beatrice Hughes.

Martin is lovingly remembered by his daughters and their spouses: Linda Ellen Pineo (Robert), Portland, Oregon; Leslie Anne Boyd, Cordova, Tennessee; Gretchen Boyd Mattingly (Mike), Germantown, Tennessee; and Kimberly Boyd Chapman (Allen), Germantown, Tennessee, as well as his grandchildren and spouses: Cynthia Jane Pineo (Mike Witherell) and Richard Eddy Pineo (Angie Kim), Portland, Oregon; Kristen Mattingly Ellis (Clayton), Memphis, Tennessee; Catherine Margaret Mattingly, Atlanta, Georgia; Johannah Kirsten Chapman and Kelsey Elizabeth Chapman, Germantown, Tennessee ; and great grand children Sabine Hana Pineo and Oliver Kim Pineo, Portland, Oregon. Martin is survived by his half-brother, Eugene Boyd, Dixon, Illinois.

Martin was born in Herscher, Illinois on December 29, 1923. He graduated from Drummer Township High School, Gibson City, Illinois in 1941. He joined the U.S. Navy February 5, 1943 and served as a Seaman First Class until February 2, 1946. He married Joan on March 4, 1945 in Springfield, Ohio. He worked for 37 years for the federal government, retiring from the position of Systems Analyst for the Defense Logistics Agency on January 5, 1979. During that time he and his family lived in Dayton, Yellow Springs and Springfield, Ohio; Warner Robins, Georgia; and Memphis, Tennessee.

Martin was a faithful Lutheran, a devoted husband and father, and a member of the “Greatest Generation.” Joan was the love of his life, and his daughters remember seeing them frequently helping each other with chores or sitting together holding hands. Martin’s family and friends were often surprised at the variety of interests and abilities he had…from a deep love of music to gardening to repairing cars and roofing houses to running, camping, fishing and waterskiing. He had a talent for figuring out how to do just about anything he wanted to do.

The visitation will be held at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 6865 Poplar Pike, Memphis, Tennessee on Monday, October 21, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. with the funeral service following at 12 noon. The committal service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, October 21, 2013, at the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery, 4000 Forest Hill Irene Road, Memphis, Tennessee.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 6865 Poplar Pike, Memphis, Tennessee.