Erica Eleonora Boyd

Erica lived a storybook life. Born in China to Zygmunt Tokarzewski and Nina Krivenko, she grew up in the French Quarter of Shanghai until the early 1950s, when she and her mom escaped the Japanese Occupation and immigrated to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Fluent in five languages, she worked in the US Embassy as a translator and met her husband Walter Boyd, HMCS. Upon Walter’s retirement from the Navy, the family moved to Virginia Beach, where they raised their daughters. Erica worked as a legal secretary for Delegate Glenn McClannan and Senator Joe Canada before retiring herself. Erica enjoyed living life to the fullest. She loved travel and was always asking… where to next? She moved to Nansemond on the Bay in 1999 where she reunited with old friends and lived a life of leisure overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. Her taste in clothes was impeccable and her laughter contagious. She was an advocate for the less fortunate and had a soft heart for children and animals. She will be missed by all who met her. She was a force of nature!

Erica is survived by her daughters, Catherine “Cookie” Boyd (wife Karen), Grace Lynch (husband Eddie), and son Michael Baker; her granddaughters Erica Aaron (husband Daniel) and Elizabeth Butler; great-grandchildren Skylar, Jude and Gabriel Aaron; great-great-grandson (arriving soon); her bonus children Resa Gibbs (Jackie), Debbie and Adm. Barry McCullough, Robin Kopsko and Suzy Allen (Joe); nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.

Thank you to Sentara Hospice, especially Erin and Kim, along with her remarkable caregivers, Rebecca and Maria, for making the journey home a loving and comfortable one. Thank you also to the staff of Nansemond on the Bay for always looking out and keeping us a step ahead of her! Thank you all for your kindness.

A memorial service will be conducted at 11 am, Thursday, July 30th, at St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in West Ghent, 1004 Graydon Ave., Norfolk, Virginia, 23507.

Erica loved children and animals. At the family’s request, in lieu of flowers, if you wish to donate, please consider a children’s or animal charity of your choice.