William Boyd Smith

Mr. William “Boyd” Smith, 74, left this world on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.  Born at home on December 17, 1948, Boyd was the firstborn of Beulah Boyd and Charles Arnold Smith of Cana, VA.  Three siblings followed: Mitchell, Rebecca, and Spencer.  Boyd graduated from Mount Airy High School in 1967.  He entered Virginia Commonwealth University with his mother’s intention of him becoming a physician.  Boyd had different intentions and left quickly for his next adventure, the United States Navy Seabees and Vietnam.  While serving in Vietnam, Boyd’s brother, Mitchell, was critically wounded and Boyd sat by his side for weeks before accompanying Mitchell back to the States.  Boyd’s military service finished in sunny Southern California, and he loved to share stories of celebrity encounters with Carol King and Alice Cooper and surfing “real waves” in the Pacific.  Boyd proposed to his wife, Judy Kaye Goodman, on the night they met.  A wedding followed in the next few weeks, and their only child, Erica Elizabeth, arrived six years later.  Boyd and Erica shared many hobbies, including antiquing, all things Porsche, history, and true crime television shows.  The final seventeen months of his life were particularly sorrowful as he mourned the deaths of his son-in-law, Spencer Gray Key, Jr., and his wife, Judy.  He is survived by a daughter, Erica Elizabeth Smith; a sister, Rebecca Smith; a brother, Spencer Smith; many cousins and friends; and his special neighbors, Brandon Martin, Frank and Lucy Harris, and Jonathan Gibbons.  In addition to his wife, son-in-law, and parents, Mr. Smith was preceded in death by a brother, Charles Mitchell Smith.  A service of worship and celebration of Boyd’s life will be held Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 2:00 PM at Willow Hill Moravian Church, with Bruce Ayers, Acolyte, officiating.  No formal visitation will be held.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Willow Hill Moravian Church Cemetery Fund, 577 Willow Hill Road, Ararat, VA  24053; or the Claude E. Hooker VFW Post 2019 of Mount Airy, c/o Harlan Hawks, 285 Pine Ridge Trail, Pinnacle, NC  27043.  Moody Funeral Services in Mount Airy is serving the family.