Boyd, John D.

John D. Boyd

Athens, Ga.

John Douglas Boyd died from complications of Alzheimer's disease on April 4, 2011. A memorial service is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday, April 17, at the Day Chapel in the State Botanical Garden, Athens.

Born March 28, 1941, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he was the son of Harry E. Boyd, longtime editor of The Cedar Rapids Gazette, and his wife, Dorothy Lowrie Boyd. He attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids and graduated as salutatorian of his class. In 1963, he earned a B.A. in English from Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He completed his Ph.D. at Cornell University in 1968 and remained there as an assistant professor of English until 1974.

In 1968, he married Ruth Brinkman, also of Cedar Rapids. Their son, Jason, was born in 1972. From 1974 until 1992, Dr. Boyd taught English at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. In 1978, he married Anne Williams of Comanche, Texas, who was beginning an assistant professorship at the University of Georgia. They commuted between Worcester and Athens for 13 years. In 1992, he moved to Athens and taught English at UGA until he retired in 2007.

A specialist in the British Victorians, he inspired generations of English majors with his keen wit and love of literature. He was an accomplished pianist and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the classical repertoire. He also loved choral singing and joined the Worcester Chorus from 1975 to 1992 and the Athens Master Chorale from 1992 to 2007.

He is survived by his wife, Anne; and his son, Jason of Medford, Mass.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the scholarship in his name at Carleton College's Gift Accounting Office, identified as “John D. Boyd '63.”

Lord & Stephens East, Athens, Ga., is in charge of arrangements.