RIP Richard “Ricky” Clark Boyd

[Mike Simpson]

September 15, 2012

Richard “Ricky” Clark Boyd

1949 - 2012

Richard “Ricky” Clark Boyd, 63, of Muskogee, Oklahoma passed away Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at home.  He was born June 14, 1949 in Muskogee, Oklahoma to Patrick Boyd Sr. and Iva Janet Britton Boyd.  Ricky grew up in Muskogee and graduated from Muskogee High School.  He was a truck driver by trade.  Ricky loved to go fishing, playing golf, and watching football with his dad.  He will be remembered for his sweet smile and happy go lucky attitude.  He loved life and always made the most of it.  Ricky loved his family and friends without condition.

Ricky was preceded in death by his mother, Iva Janet Boyd; his paternal grandparents, Oscar and Fannie Boyd; his maternal grandparents, Durard and Bertha Hubbard; and his special friends, Gary Butcher and Roger Forrest.

He is survived by his father, Patrick Boyd Sr.; his brother, Patrick (Duke) Boyd; his daughters, Brandy Wheeler and husband Terry, Whitney Boyd; his grandsons, Bradley and Zac Dillon; his niece, Kim Martin and husband Greg; his nephew, Alan Boyd and wife Gwen; his cousin and beloved friend, Lee Riggs; his beloved lifelong friend, Moe Sheets and wife Vicky; his dogs, Bubba and Speckles; many other dear friends and family members.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the Boyd Family.

Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m., Monday, September 17, 2012 at Timothy Baptist Church in Muskogee, Oklahoma with Pastor Kelly Payne and Pastor Nate Capps officiating.  Interment will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery.  Pallbearers will be Moe Sheets, Larry Shoemake, Gary Shoemake, Gary Carter, Jerry Shoemake, and Howard Barton.  Honorary pallbearers will be Ronnie Pease, Gary Garner, and Henry Horton.

Funeral services are under the direction of Cornerstone Funeral Home and Crematory, 1830 North York Street, Muskogee, Ok.  Condolences may be sent to the family at www.cornerstoneofmuskogee.com

Richard “Ricky” Clark Boyd Source: muskogeephoenix.com Richard “Ricky” Clark Boyd, 63, of Muskogee, Oklahoma passed away Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at home.  He was born June 14, 1949 in

[Tom Abbott]

Ricky Boyd was my first cousin. His father and my mother were brother and sister. Ricky and I spent quite a bit of time together when we were kids, all the way up through high school, and then we went our separate ways, as is the way of the world. Here are a couple of stories about Ricky that not too many people know, but probably should, if they would like a little insight into Ricky's character.

In our sophomore year at Central High, myself and a few friends talked Ricky into skipping school. I believe this was the first time Ricky had ever skipped class in high school. There was me, Ricky Boyd, Mike Dickerson, Ronnie Pease, and Jim Sheets. Jim Sheets and I were serial class skippers so we were going to show Ricky the ropes. We told him all he had to do was call in to school and pretend he was his father and report to the school that Ricky was sick and would not be attending that day. We told Ricky not to worry about the call because it was just a secretary taking the call and there was never any trouble doing this.

So, we got in Mike Dikerson's 1963 Chevy Impala SS 327, 300 horse, white exterior, black interior, buckets seats. A *nice* car. Actually, it was Mike's brother David's car, but we acted like it was ours. We head west down Shawnee Bypass and get to 32nd Street/69 Highway, make a left on 69 going south, and about a mile up the highway, where the trains go under, was a lone phone booth sitting there beside the road.

We all got out and Ricky entered the phone booth to make his call, while the rest of us stood around him and gave him moral support. So Ricky calls up the school, and he says, "Hello, Ricky Boyd won't be in to school today because he is sick." Then there was a pause as the secretary on the other end asked him who was calling this in, and Ricky said, "This is my father." Ricky immediately realized he had screwed up! His eyes went wide, and he clamped his free hand over his mouth, and looked at us, and then at the phone in his other hand, and then slammed it down on the receiver. All of us except Ricky burst out laughing! Poor Ricky, busted on his first try! His father was not pleased with Ricky, when he found out later that day! The look on Ricky's face when he realized what he had done was priceless!

One time, very early in my sophmore year at Central High, I was working at Burger Chef on Eastside Boulevard, and the franchise owner at the time, drove an old 49 Chevy and he used to let me drive it sometimes. So this one evening me, Ricky Boyd, my brother Teddy Joe, Earnie Scocos and Dean Scocos all piled into this old beat-up Chevy and went cruising around Muskogee.

We were headed east on Okmulgee Avenue, and were stopped at the light at Eastside Boulevard, when another car pulled up along side of us and stopped, and my brother, who was sitting in the front passenger seat said someone in the next car had given him the middle finger, and my brother had given it back to him, and these guys in the other car, one of whom I recognized as a local tough guy named Caleb Milligan, start hollering at us and start chasing us up Okmulgee Avenue.

Well, I'm not sure what's going on, and I'm not eager to take on Caleb Milligan, but there's no way I can outrun them in that old car, so I pull over to the side of the road and stop. Caleb Milligan was five or six years older than me, and had a pretty tough reputation, and he certainly looked the part, large, strong and menacing looking. So Caleb and another person I didn't know at the time, walked up to my drivers window, and Caleb wanted to know what we punks thought we were doing giving him the finger.

I explained what my brother had told me: that the other guy standing there had given him the finger first. I felt some relief as Caleb seemed mollified that we were not trying to be disrespectful to him personally, but were just reacting to his sidekick showing disrespect to us, and then, out of the blue, this second guy who is with Caleb, and who is an Unamed Classmate (UC) of ours, for some reason decides it is a good time to try to sucker punch me, while I'm sitting there trying to reason with Caleb. Maybe he thought he had not caused enough trouble already. He swings this big roundhouse punch at me while I'm not looking, but instead of hitting me, he hits the car door right above my head! Hard! Ouch! That must have hurt! :)

About this time, Ricky Boyd, who is sitting in the backseat right behind me, and cannot be seen by the two guys standing outside, leans forward and sticks his head out my drivers window and says to UC, "Hey, UC, you better watch your step, or I'll beat the **** out of you! I didn't know UC at the time since he was from the West side of town, and he didn't know me, but apparently he and Ricky had had some dealings in the past, and it turns out UC was very intimidated to see Ricky Boyd in the car with me, threatening him with badily harm, and he immediately started apologizing profusely.

Well, the whole tone kind of changed, and that broke the spell, and Caleb Milligan started laughing at UC, and how things had turned out and told UC, the one with the very sore hand, to get in the car and they left drove off and left us alone. So, thanks Rick, for stepping up and defending your cuz. Ole UC didn't want any part of Ricky Boyd. Ricky didn't have a mean bone in his body, but you did not want to get him riled up because he did have a temper. It's the Irish in our family tree. :)

I ended up being pretty good friends with ole UC after we got to know each other. I think he probably decided it was better for him to have hit the car instead of me that night. I don't know if he and Rick's relationship improved after that but knowing Ricky, it probably did.

God Bless you Rick. I love you man.

Tom Abbott