Patricia Torson Boyd
Patricia “Pat” Torson Boyd, died peacefully on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. Her daughter Cathy Fraser, son William Smith, and daughter-in-law Julie Hanson-Smith were with her. She died in her own apartment, with loved ones and surrounded by things that had given her pleasure over her lifetime.
She was very thankful for the amazing compassion and love of the Valle Verde community. The last leg of the journey was both a new beginning and an end.
Pat was born on Feb. 29, 1924 to Archie Orlando Torson and Caroline Sprecher Torson, a leap year baby, something she thought made her special from the get-go as while most were counting years; she was counting birthdays. Her dear brother John Archie Torson was born two years later, on Feb. 1, 1926. Pat grew up in the rolling hills of a rural farming community in Independence, Wisconsin, whose simple and honest people left their mark on her values. Though she and her brother would become world travelers, their heart would always be bound to the place where they grew up, an experience that set the pace of Pat’s life as being an energetic, positive life force. She was Valedictorian of her high school senior class, later went on to Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin, and finally earned a Masters’ Degree at American University in Washington, D.C. where she soon after worked for the US State Department and did research overseas for them in education.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband John Gordon Boyd and her brother John. She was also preceded in death by Ian Nairn Fraser, the father of her daughters, Carol Fraser Scott and Catherine Nairn Fraser and by William E. Smith Jr., the father of her sons, William E. Smith III and Matthew Tory Smith.
Pat is survived by her daughter Carol Fraser Scott, son-in-law Kevin Scott; daughter Cathy Fraser; son William E. Smith III, daughter-in-law Julie Hanson-Smith; son Matthew Tory Smith, daughter-in-law Cynthia Smith; granddaughters Karly Coleman, Elisabeth Smith, Sarah Scott, Lydia Smith, and Zoe Smith; grandsons Corwin DeSimone, William Smith IV and his wife Nereyda, Tory Smith, John Scott, and Gabriel Smith; great-grandson Tanner Smith and great-granddaughters Giselle Smith and Arwen Hodge. She was always proud of her growing family.
She is also survived by the English family: John Boyd’s son Alan Creighton Boyd; Carol Horsburgh and her husband Terry Horsburgh, Robin Boyd and his wife Carol Boyd. As Pat loved John’s children and their families, she enjoyed visiting them in England and in turn relished their visits to the United States. Ingrid Boyd and members of her family were her most recent visitors.
Pat was a successful life insurance salesperson at AXA Equitable. She was a Charted Life Underwriter (“CLU”) and Chartered Financial Consultant (“ChFC”). She was a member of the Million Dollar Roundtable and Presidents Circle. She was inducted into the AXA Hall of Fame and was the third woman to achieve that honor at that time.
As mentioned, Pat was a leap year baby and always enjoyed being much younger than her contemporaries. Perhaps this youthful predisposition helps explain her boundless energy, drive, and ambition. She was also blessed with beauty and charm. These qualities were complemented by a tremendous generosity of faith, spirit, thought, and life. One of her dear Valle Verde friends said that Pat touched something deep inside everyone she met. She certainly had a smile and twinkle in her eye that made everyone feel welcome. Her energy and love of life were alluring to us all and as Ingrid Boyd said, we have a big gap in our lives without her. We must fill this void with joy and happy memories even in our sadness.
She loved living in Highland’s, After John and Pat retired to Highlands in 1989, Pat was very active in the community. She was the chairwoman of the Bascom Art Gallery for four years and instrumental in founding the Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. She helped found Macon County League of Women Voters. She was active in the Highlands institute for Religious and Philosophical Thought (HIARPT), the Women’s Dialogue, The Jung Study Group, Highlands-Cashier Chamber Music Festival, Bel Canto, Jackson-Macon Conservation Alliance, Highlands Housing Inc, and the Laurel Garden Club. She was an elder in The First Presbyterian Church of Highlands and enjoyed many years of service at the church.
She was deeply committed to progressive causes and gave generously to countless charities. She was an early advocate of school desegregation and participated in organizing for the Southern Christian Leadership Council. She believed in equal rights for everyone and would champion for those who were oppressed in any way.
She loved to read, listen to music, and through her brother John, collect beautiful art. In her home, she entertained regularly and shared with family and friends her home’s welcoming atmosphere. Indeed, Pat was happiest when surrounded by others as this, among other things, gave her an opportunity to cook her favorite dishes and later, to even publish locally her favorite recipes. She loved the outdoors and is the only seventy plus year old we know that hiked the Milford Trek in New Zealand. She loved hiking around Highlands, the Botanic Garden in Santa Barbara, and the Douglas Preserve overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Always competitively five steps or more ahead of everyone else, Pat nevertheless had endearing qualities that will mark the memories of those who knew her.
With humor, her late husband John Boyd, also a Highlander, described her as indefatigable and always an advocate of her children. Thankfully, she died in their company.
A celebration of her life is tentatively scheduled for May 23, Memorial Day weekend. She will be interred alongside her parents and brother near her birthplace in Wisconsin.