Obituary for David Hoggan Boyce David Boyce passed out of this life on Sunday, 16 December 2018 in Murray, Utah after a relatively pain-free bout with cancer and kidney failure. His wife of over 65 years—Sandra Bringhurst Boyce—preceded him in death by less than 8 weeks on 22 October 2018. His parents and all of his siblings also preceded him.
David was born in Pocatello, Idaho on 28 July 1930, the youngest of William Henry Boyce & Jessie Isabelle Hoggan’s 7 children. He was raised near Charlo, MT (western Montana) and enjoyed hunting and fishing. He attended Montana Boys State, played tuba in the band, and was in school plays.
He played high school basketball and football (7-man teams) and said he was the smallest center ever! David attended BYU (Provo, UT) and enlisted in the Air Force ROTC. He served in the Western States Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from 1950 to 1952.
He then returned to BYU majoring in animal husbandry. David & Sandra were married 28 August 1953 in the Saint George Temple. He became a father before graduating and serving as an Air Force pilot for 3 years; he was a Captain when he left the USAF in October 1958.
David flew all over the world and spoke of “buzzing” sheep in northern Europe. But he never gave specifics because his missions—particularly those to Asia—had been classified. He was a farmer most of his life, primarily in the states of Montana, Utah, Arizona, Washington and Michigan.
He had more than one farming venture with his brother Orson. They made a decision to leave Washington state and move to Michigan to grow potatoes for Ore-Ida in the mid-‘60s with mixed financial results. They could fix almost any farm equipment: a hay rake may only require bailing wire, while it seemed a potato harvester usually required welding in the middle of the field!
David said or implied more than once: “Being a farmer often means you are a jack of all trades and master of none”. One son said: “I remember a sense of pride and team spirit working with my Dad and brother; we ran a dairy farm in Michigan and at times milked over 100 head [cows]. We boys didn’t have much enthusiasm getting out of bed for morning milkings, especially in the winter.
That’s when we needed Dad’s persistence! ” David’s farming “career” had a number of interruptions and tangents. Among other occupations, he was a pilot, baker, carpenter, insurance or agricultural products salesman, and estate caretaker.
He was very Scottish and stoic; especially in later years he was a man of few words. He rarely if ever cried…unless he was in church and he was speaking. He was a servant of God, and was given many assignments; he was a counselor to many bishops.
He and Sandra served an employment mission in downtown Salt Lake City. But many of us remember him most for his roles as husband, father, uncle, and grandfather. In 1953 courting his wife became a sort of mission for him.
A brother in Montana—seeing how much David missed Sandra—encouraged him to leave Montana and go back to school. Later he hitchhiked hundreds of miles to visit Sandra in southern Utah. Small wonder then that after Air Force years, the nights he and Sandra spent apart were very few.
When their health conditions forced them from their West Jordan apartment to a care center in late August, they were initially placed in separate rooms, but visited each other daily. Then on their 65th anniversary (28 August 2018), they were reunited in the same room. We believe they are now reunited forever!
David is survived by his children, Brooke duMont of Lancaster, CA; David B. (Carma) Boyce of Kearns, UT; Wayne (Nancy) Boyce of Camarillo, CA; Suzan (Todd) Meredith of Ashburn, VA; Lynette (Don) Leatham of Chandler, AZ; Gordon (Melinda) Boyce of Hagerstown, MD; and Earl (Shelly) Boyce of South Jordan, UT. He is also survived by 32 grandchildren, 23 great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. The family expresses heartfelt thanks to David’s hospice nurses and to the nurses and staff at Rocky Mountain’s Cottage on Vine Care Center for their service, kindness and friendship to both David & Sandra during their final days.
All are invited to a memorial for David & Sandra on Saturday, 5 January 2019; to be held at 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints located at 8136 South Old Bingham Highway (4800 West) West Jordan, Utah. David & Sandra are to be interred at Utah Veterans Cemetery & Memorial Park in a private ceremony.
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