Robert Wright Boyd III

Robert Wright Boyd, III, died at his home in Wexford, Pennsylvania, on December 12, 2022. Bob, as he was known, was born in Manhattan, New York, in 1945. He was the son of Robert Wright Boyd, Jr., and Ruth Florea.

When Bob was five years old, his family moved to Old Greenwich, Connecticut, where he lived until graduating from Greenwich High School in 1963. After graduating from high school, Bob attended Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages and Literatures, graduating cum laude in 1967. He spent the spring semester of 1966 studying abroad in Bogotá, Colombia, where he began dating Heather Riddle, who was also studying abroad. They were married on June 7, 1968, in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. In August 1968, Bob earned a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida. From there he worked in a variety of sales positions for the Wilbur-Ellis Company, National Can Corporation, the Jim Dandy Company, and Campbell Soup Company before starting his own manufacturers’ representative business called R. W. B. & Associates. He later worked for CBS Records International as the Director of Marketing for Promotional Sales. As Bob worked for those various companies, he and his family lived in Connecticut, California, Illinois, Alabama, and New Jersey. In 1985 Bob was hired as Director of Marketing for Action International, a division of Action Industries, and in March 1986 he moved his family to Wexford, Pennsylvania, where he lived for the rest of his life. He resigned from Action Industries in 1990 and founded Hi-Lite Industries, becoming the company’s president, a position he maintained until his retirement in 2007.

Bob was an avid investor and twice-published author, who wrote His Father’s Son, which was published by Dorrance Publishing Company in 1997, and Does God Want You To Be Happy?, which was published by Xulon Press in 2015. Bob was a Stephen minister and longtime member of Ingomar United Methodist Church. He was generous, kind, compassionate, and loving. He made family the priority in his life and was always seeking to help others.

Bob is survived by his wife, Heather; daughter, Amy Boyd Austin of Essex Junction, Vermont; daughter, Brook Boyd West of Seattle, Washington; son, Robert Adam Boyd of Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea; and grandchildren Riley Boyd Austin, Haley Boyd Austin, Sailor Michelle West, Robert Jacob Boyd, Bella Noelle Boyd, and Asher Morgan Boyd.

A public memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, December 19, at Ingomar United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to P. E. O., a philanthropic organization that promotes the education of women. Please make checks payable to “P. E. O. Chapter BW,” and send them to the address below.

P. E. O. Chapter BW

c/o Shelley Byers

96 Saybrook Harbor

Bradford Woods, PA 15015