Richard Orville Boyd

Richard Boyd went to be with the Lord Friday, April 17, 2009. Richard is survived by sons Ernest Boyd and his wife Marlene and Don Boyd and his wife Edi. He has four grand children, Christopher, Ernest Jr., Marnie, and Brian. Richard also has 5 great grand children and one great -great grandchild. Richard was born and raised in Dallas and attended Forrest High School where he met his wife, Vivian. They married in 1937 and spent their entire 59 years of married life in Dallas. After Vivian’s death in 1996, Richard moved to Austin where he lived at the Clairmont Retirement Home. While there he met Leola Fowler and married Leola. After Leola passed away in 2006, Richard moved into the Lodge at Rocky Hollow where he spent his last days. Richard grew up during the depression and quickly learned that to survive you had to work. As a teenager, he hopped on freight trains in Dallas and rode across town to earn money as a caddy for golfers. He became a sheet metal worker and worked with his hands all his life. Richard also learned the value of caring for others. As a young family man, on weekends he would go and care for his father after he had a debilitating stroke. Richard and Vivian provided care for her mother in their home, until she had a severe stroke. When Vivian got cancer, Richard cared for her at home, again until that became impossible for him. After Vivian passes away, Richard moved to Austin to be close to his family. There he met and married Leola. They had 3 wonderful years together before Leola had a stroke and had to be placed in a facility. For three years, he sat beside her hospital bed from 9am to 4pm except for going home for lunch. During those three years, he made sure the staff gave the attention to Leola she deserved. Richard was a care giver at heart. Richard knew the Lord and knew where he would spend eternity. Richard didn’t talk much about his faith, he just lived it. He is in a better place now and his family rejoices that he is home, and that the quality of his life remained good until his rapid departure. The last Saturday before his death was spent enjoying a family get-together complete with Easter egg hunt. We are very thankful for the example of his life and his faith and can only rejoice that he is now with the Lord after a good life of 91 years. If one word was chosen to describe Richard it would be devoted. His life was devoted to his faith and to his family. We pray that each one here has the same assurance of your final destination and can experience the same peace that was part of Richard’s daily life and departure. Visitation will be held on Monday, April 20, 2009 from 6PM to 8PM at The Gabriels Funeral Chapel, 393 N. IH 35, Georgetown. Graveside services will be at 2:00PM at IOOF Cemetery in Georgetown on Tuesday, April 21,2009.