{geni:about_me} Elder Norman Lester Boyd, son of Harley and Emma (Cover) Boyd, was born in Modesto, CA, on May 2, 1926, and very peacefully departed this life for eternity on March 25, 2016, at the age of 89 years and 10 months.
Dad grew up on a farm in Modesto doing chores of feeding and milking cows, caring for pigs, chickens and rabbits, and later farming beans, corn, almonds and peaches.
School days were pretty long, having to walk three miles to school and three miles home each day.
Feeling the need of a savior at age 15, he was baptized into the fellowship of the Old German Baptist Brethren Church by Elder J. A. Cover at the Stanislaus River near Modesto. In 2009, he was united with the New Conference to which he remained faithful.
Norman was united in marriage with Doris Jean Balsbaugh on September 28, 1946. To this union were born 4 children: Rachel, Linda, Calvin and Carmen.
Dad worked for “The Farmer's Phone Company” as a lineman and farmed and milked cows. In June of 1956, Norman and Doris were called to the office of deacon at Modesto District Church. They moved to Tuolumne District for nine years; then in 1967, they moved to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and helped form the Sierra Pines District. While there, Norman and Doris were elected to the ministry.
Dad replaced his farming days to be a welder and do metal fabricating, welding on bridges, logging trucks and decorative iron projects. During this time of his life he studied and took flying lessons. He received his Private Pilot's License, which he had until he was 83 years old. He enjoyed taking family members and friends flying, and telling and showing them about God's Earth from up in
the sky.
Dad and Mother moved to Dallas, OR, in 1992 to help support and serve in a small and growing church there. Dad was always a peacemaker and always looked for the good in others. While living in Oregon, they made lots of friends, shared God's love to all and shared Bible truths to the world around them. Dad and mother became elders in the church in 1978 and had lots of time to share and influence young and old souls to the Gospel of Jesus our Lord and Savior. They went to Annual Conference every year that their health would allow them, with many friends and family meeting them at various places. They took many trips to the coast with children, friends and grandchildren. Dad enjoyed building wooden model airplanes and he gave them to friends, family, strangers, and whoever wanted one.
Dad was anointed twice in his lifetime; once in 2001 and once in 2002, from which he received much comfort and was built up in faith and love of the Bible. Both Dad andMother enjoyed being with the church fellowship, calling on them as family, showing love and being loved by them. Mother passed away in August, 2011, at the age of 83 years. After her passing Dad lived alone. Because of macular degeneration in his eye, he was forced to give up his driving privileges and used an electric wheel chair to get around. (At any given time you may have seen him in his electric wheel chair on the streets of Dallas, OR.) Dad's last days were spent at a loving care facility called, “Rock Of Ages”, a Mennonite Church organization that cares for elderly folks. He always enjoyed folks stopping in to see him, and they would study the Bible and would pray for the sick folks around him and for him.
Dad and Mother enjoyed their married life together with their church related families, and with the friends they met along life's pathway. Dad's last Annual Conference was at George Fox University in Newburg, OR. Calvin and his wife Barbara, along with grandson Marcus Peters and his wife Heidi, helped him to get there safely and cared for him during the conference. Dad's last days at the care center were an uplifting experience to the staff and care givers at Rock of Ages. The Norman Boyd family will always be grateful to them for their care giving.
Surviving are his loving family: Rachel Salter and her companion, Larry; Linda Crawford and her companion, Mike; Calvin and his companion, Barbara; Carmen Boyd and her companion, Jonathan; 12 grandchildren; 28 great grandchildren; 1 great-great grandchild; and 1 sister Ruth Beery and her companion, Paul. Preceding him in death were his parents, Harley and Emma, two brothers,
Maurice Boyd and Donald Boyd; and two sisters, Ona Boyd and Muriel Onkst.
A viewing on Friday, April 1, 2016,
from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
The funeral at Dallas Old German Baptist Brethren, NC
at 13180 Beck Road,
Dallas, OR.
Interment at the Salt Creek Cemetery, Dallas, OR
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