Robert Moore Boyd

Robert Moore Boyd, age 96, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 5, 2026, at his home in Avondale Estates, Georgia, with his wife and son by his side. After a valiant three-week fight, he succumbed to complications from a subdural hematoma sustained in a fall.

Born on August 11, 1930, in Little Rock, Arkansas to Alaga Harrison Boyd and Myrtle Howard Ireland Boyd, “Bob” grew up in Monticello, Arkansas. As a young man, Bob became active in the Boy Scouts of America, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout along with several classmates who became lifelong close friends. He attended Monticello High School where he was Senior Class President. After graduating, Bob hitchhiked across the country with a friend and worked for an entire summer on building the Alaska Railroad. He graduated from Arkansas A&M College (now the University of Arkansas at Monticello), majoring in Mathematics, and earning his Bachelor of Science degree in 1952. He was President of his senior class and President of his fraternity, Sigma Tau Gamma. He joined the Air Force after graduation, serving during the Korean War, and attained the rank of Captain. While in the Air Force, he completed master’s studies in Meteorology at Florida State University in Tallahassee. He worked in Cuba, near the time of the revolution, making rain by seeding clouds with silver nitrate for the American Sugar Company.

While temporarily stationed in South Carolina, Bob met his wife, Rose Faye Milne. They were married on November 23, 1957, at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Columbia, S.C.

His first job was in Oceanography at the Navy Hydrographic Office in Suitland, Maryland near Washington, D.C. Two years later, he moved to Gainesville, Georgia to work as the lead meteorologist in Lockheed Martin’s development of the “nuclear airplane.” During this time, Bob also completed coursework in Health Physics at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. When the nuclear airplane program was halted due to issues of feasibility, Bob accepted a position with the Georgia Institute of Technology as the Director of Radiation Safety for their new Nuclear Research Reactor. He also was a faculty member at Georgia State University where he served as their Radiation Safety Director. He was an adjunct professor at Mercer University. He taught continuing education classes in Radiation Awareness at each college and at many corporations. Bob retired from both Georgia Tech and Georgia State University after 30 years of service. He continued an active radiation safety consulting practice throughout Georgia. Regular clients included Coca Cola, Honeywell, Westinghouse, and Georgia Power.

Bob was a member of the Health Physics Society, the American Meteorological Society, and the Drew County (Arkansas) Historical Society. He also was a member of the Masonic Lodge, the American Legion, the Avondale Estates Men’s Club, and a longtime member of Rock of Ages Lutheran Church.

Bob had many hobbies during his lifetime, and he was generous to others with his talents. He made hundreds of hand painted wooden toys for children undergoing cancer treatment at the Ronald McDonald House, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and for Sheltering Arms Learning Center for Children. He made many birdhouses for the Avondale Estates Garden Club Holiday Bazaar. He loved making wooden toys and dollhouses for his children, nieces, and nephews and later for his own grandchildren in his workshop.

He loved to travel and introduced his children to many welcoming relatives all over the country. Summer family vacations were spent at Myrtle Beach. He enjoyed trips to Great Britain, where he climbed castle staircases, explored mysterious crypts, and prehistoric structures. He made friends across Europe, traveling down the Rhine River to the Swiss Alps, nearly tipping a gondola over in Venice, delighting in Holland’s windmills, and sparring with gladiators at the Roman Colosseum.

Bob was a lifelong season ticket holder for home football and basketball games that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets played. He attended games until he was in his mid 80’s.

He loved each and every one of his large extended family members and was always interested in their lives and was especially proud of their accomplishments. On Christmas Eve, every year for over 25 years, he and his wife hosted a large country Christmas party at the family homestead outside of Columbia, South Carolina. For these events, Bob would dress up as a different “secret” Christmas character each year, performing a one-man skit in costume for the delighted crowd.

Bob is survived by his devoted wife of 68 years, Rose Faye Milne Boyd, his adoring daughter, Lynn Boyd, and her husband, Harry Vann, of Avondale Estates, Georgia, his loyal and loving son, Alan Boyd, and his wife, Andrea White Boyd, of Jefferson, Georgia, and two cherished grandchildren, Alexander “Sasha” Boyd of Helen, Georgia and Rylee Boyd Elkins and her husband, Zach Elkins, of Maysville, Georgia. He is also survived by his special nephew whom he loved dearly, John Clifton Kirk and his wife, Sue Kirk, and their children, Carrie Kirk Montgomery, John Edward Kirk and his wife, April, and Clifton Lee Kirk, Sr. and his wife, Becky, all of Blythewood, South Carolina. He is also survived by numerous nephews and nieces: Lisa Milne Young and her husband, Edwin Young, Teresa Milne, Ron Milne and his wife, Elizabeth, Brent Milne and his wife, Krista Marks, Darlene Kirk, Elizabeth Thomas, Robert Boyd Conatser, Glen Conatser, Jackye Boyd and Harriet Boyd Harty. He is also survived by numerous great nephews and great nieces. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, his uncle, Greydon Boyd, and his wife, Freddy, his uncle, Lee Boyd, and his wife, Billy, his brother, Jack Ireland Boyd, and his wife, Annelle, his sister, Elizabeth “Betty” Boyd Conatser, and her husband, Robert Conatser, and his first cousin, Eddie Lee Boyd, and his wife, Irene. He was also predeceased by nephews Rick Milne, William “Zeke” Kirk, Carl Conatser, and Harrison Boyd.

Bob never met a stranger and truly loved people. If he were here, he would tell you, “Make hay while the sun shines” and then “Write it down.”

Funeral services for Robert Moore Boyd will be held on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, Columbia, South Carolina. A visitation will take place prior to the service at 10:00 a.m. at Dunbar Funeral Home. The Burial and Graveside Ceremony will take place afterwards at 12:00 noon at Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbia, South Carolina.