Hubert E. Boyd

Hubert Earl "Butch" Boyd Jr. was born March 8, 1939 in Hebbronville, Texas, to Hubert Earl (Buddy) Boyd and Beulah Elizabeth (Betty) Sturgis Boyd. He died at his home in Newburgh, New York, on March 20, 2015. Family and friends never called Butch anything but Butch. While growing up with his sister and four brothers, Butch lived in Corpus Christi, Brownsville, San Antonio, Massachusetts (during his father's World War II service), Little Rock, and Fort Worth. Butch attended high school in Azle, Texas. He was an industrious young man, earning his HAM radio operator's license, setting up a worthy chemistry lab in his bedroom, and raising a Texas State Fair Grand Champion hog. Being the brilliant sort of man we all knew him to be, he wound up matriculating at the University of Texas when he was sixteen. He spent one of the summers between terms doing concrete work on Wake Island, Central Pacific, where his family now resided. Later, Butch joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed in San Diego on a destroyer. He married Mary Kay Mitchell and they moved to Minneapolis where Eugenie Elizabeth (Jennie) was born, and Butch finished his Bachelor's degree in chemistry at the University of Minnesota in 1968. Later that marriage was dissolved, and Butch moved to upstate New York. There he met Dana Gail Davidoff. They married on October 26, 1974. Katherine Gail and later Alan Marcus were born in New Jersey. The family lived in Illinois, California, and then back in upstate New York, where Butch spent the remainder of his life. Butch earned an MBA from Farleigh Dickinson. During his career, he worked as a computer technician, chemist, and finally a salesman. He retired from Graphic Technology Inc. in 2012 and devoted a great deal of time to working at his church, Goshen United Methodist Church in Goshen, New York. He loved to read, study and debate, so this new freedom gave him time to do this in spades. He worked on the NYT crossword puzzle up until the day of his death, and was a classical music lover. He was a good salesman, debater, father, brother, friend, and bridge player. Butch challenged people, wanted to know what they thought and why they thought it. He was a philosopher and a moralist and his word was his bond. Butch is survived by his wife, Dana Gail Boyd, his daughters, Jennie and Katherine, and his son, Alan. He is also survived by his sister, Betsy Ann Boyd Mathieu (Bud), and his brothers, Joseph Boyd (Chrissie) and Stephen Boyd (Mary), and also his aunt, Walta Jean Smith. Preceding him in death are his mother, father, and brothers, James Boyd Sr. (Martha) and Walter Boyd (Pat). A memorial will be held at the Goshen United Methodist Church on April 11th at 2 pm. Butch's ashes will be taken to Cuero, Texas, where they will be buried next to his mother and father and brother, James. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations payable to the Hubert Earl Boyd Memorial Fund, mailed to Orange County Trust Company, 91 Brookside Avenue, Chester, NY, 10918. This fund will be used to set up a special needs trust for his disabled son Alan. The family has entrusted Thomas F. Flynn and the staff of Flynn Funeral & Cremation Memorial Centers, Inc., 139 Stage Road, Monroe, New York 10950 with the care and cremation arrangements for Butch. For directions to the funeral home or to offer an online memorial please visit www.flynnfh.com