Robert Massey Boyd

VIRGINIA BEACH - Robert Massie Boyd, Jr, 93, passed away on December 27, 2007 in his residence. Mr. Boyd was born on September 16, 1914 in Norfolk, VA and was the son of the late Nellie Virginia Bluford Boyd and Robert Massie Boyd, Sr. He was a graduate of Maury High School, class of 1932. He also attended Hampden Sydney College and University of Virginia. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, was a graduate of the Officers Candidates School, and during WWII he served in the Corps of Engineers in the Pacific. Mr. Boyd was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach, and also the Princess Anne Country Club. He was the owner of the Boyd Bluford Company, Wholesale Distributors, and had retired from there in 1993. After retirement, he initiated and became instrumental in the restoration of the Boyd Tavern in Boydton, VA. He was the Past President of the Boyd Family Memorial Foundation, and the Boyd Tavern Foundation. A lifelong lover of quail hunting, he was a founding member of the Pheasant Pluckers International. He also pursued various business interests in his beloved Mecklenburg County, and spent many happy hours encouraging the resurgence of the Bob White Quail on the family farms. Survivors include his loving wife of 57 years, Mildred Duncan Boyd, his daughter and son in law, Robin and James W. Rawles, Jr, and four grandsons, Robert Boyd Rawles, James W. Rawles, III, Alexander Bryan Rawles, and Charles M. Rawles. The family would like to thank Eve Boyd, for her care and support during this time. A funeral service will be held at First Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach on Sunday December 30, 2007 at 2:00 P.M. A graveside service will be held on Monday December 31, 2007 at 2:00 P.M. at Organsville, 3382 Trottinridge Rd, Clarksville, V A, the family farm in Mecklenburg County. Watkins-Cooper-Lyon Funeral home is handling Mecklenburg arrangements. H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel is handling local arrangements. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.hdo.liver.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Boyd Tavern Foundation, P.O. Box 183, Boydton, VA 23917, or to a charity of ones choice.