John Hamilton Boyd, Jr.

Jack is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years Peggy; sons John III and wife Terri; Bob and wife Jeannine; and Jim; his brother Joe and wife Cathy; and grandsons John IV, Chris, and Dylan.

Jack was born in Springfield, Missouri, the son of John H. and Helen (Reed) Boyd Sr., in 1932. In the mid 1940’s, the family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. He married Peggy in 1957 in New Orleans.

As a teen, Jack was an accomplished swimmer, winning numerous medals and ribbons, traveling as far as Austin, Texas where he won 1st place in the 200 meter free style and 2nd place in the 100 meter free style.

From 1952 to 1955, Jack was a member of the U.S. Army 1802 Special Regiment, receiving the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. From 1953 to 1955 Jack was stationed at West Point Military Academy where he was editor of The Pointer View newspaper. While there Jack traveled to New York City often, becoming a lifelong Yankees fan.

Following his military service, Jack became a reporter at the New Orleans Times Picayune and was twice nominated by the paper for a Pulitzer Prize in journalism. While working as a reporter, Jack was also attending college classes at Tulane University and in 1961, he completed his bachelor’s degree.

Also in 1961, Jack moved his young family to Cocoa Beach, Florida to take a public relations position with the Martin Marietta Aerospace Company at the very beginning of the manned spaceflight era. There he rubbed shoulders with all seven of the original Mercury astronauts, and later with many of the Gemini and Apollo astronauts.

In 1967, Jack became the Director of Public Relations at Martin Marietta’s Denver division. Over his years there, he played instrumental roles in many major aerospace projects including Skylab, the Manned Maneuvering Unit, and Vikings 1 and 2, the first spacecraft to successfully land on the surface of Mars. Jack also organized press and communications operations at multiple major international airshows in Paris, France and London, England, one time renting out the Louvre for a large cocktail party for industry executives and press. In 1984, Jack was name Director of Public Relations at Martin Marietta Corporate Headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. He retired from the company in 1992.

Jack was also an accomplished amateur golfer who qualified three times for the U.S. Senior Open in 1982, 1984, and 1986. He also won the 1977 Pinehurst Club Championship and 1983 Pinehurst Senior Club Championship in Denver, Colorado, and the Bay Hill Senior Club Championship in Orlando, Florida, in the 61-65 year old age group.

Jack and Peggy have been residents of Bay Hill Village in Orlando, Florida since 1994. For the majority of those years Jack was a member of the Village Board of Directors, holding numerous positions, including writing and distributing the Village Newsletter, developing landscaping and tree programs, and most recently as Secretary.

A funeral mass will be held at Holy Family Catholic Church, 5124 S. Apopka-Vineland Road, Orlando, at 8:30 am on Thursday, April 12th. Burial will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery, 400 Woodlawn Cemetery Road, Gotha, at approximately 10:00 am. The family will host a reception at Woodlawn, immediately following the graveside service. Flowers should be sent to Holy Family.