Obituary of Boyd, Joyce Alayne (Hockett)

Joyce Alayne Boyd went to her be with the Lord and her beloved Jim on Friday, April 27, 2018.  On the 15^th of April, she was admitted to Medical City at Arlington.  After a six-day stay, she was transported to the Pavilion at Creekwood (skilled nursing facility) in Mansfield, Texas.  On the seventh day of her stay at the Pavilion, God called her to His Heavenly Home.

Alayne, aka, Taunte (to her nephews, great nephews and nieces), and Joyce (to many friends) was born and raised in Kansas by her parents Leonard William and Ina Elizabeth (Buchheister) Hockett.  As a young girl she grew up and attended Zurich Grade School, graduated from Palco Rural High School (Class of 1955) and was a 1959 graduate of Fort Hays Kansas State College, with a Bachelor of Science in Education.  Alayne was an elementary school teacher for three years in the States, teaching in Fort Riley, Kansas and Denver, Colorado, before going overseas to teach (Department of Defense Dependents Schools).  While overseas, she taught in Okinawa and Germany for nearly 25 years.  During that time, she also received her Masters Degree from the University of Southern California.  She met her husband, Lt. Col. James Thomas Boyd, Jr. while teaching at Patrick Henry Village, Heidelberg, Germany.  After Jim retired from the Army, both he and Alayne returned to the U.S.A. and married on December 12, 1987, Gatlinburg, Tennessee; they made their home in Huntsville, Alabama.

After Jim’s death in 2007, Alayne resided near her sister, Linda K. Darden and family, in Grand Prairie, Texas.  For 11+ years.  Alayne and Linda traveled back and forth (several times each year) to her home in Huntsville and the condos in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama.  Alayne and Linda, along with Teri Rios (Alayne’s caregiver since November, 2018), made a trip to Orange Beach and Huntsville at the end of February, 2018.  In June, Alayne will have her final trip back to Alabama, where her remains will rest in peace with her beloved Jim at Mt. Vernon Cemetery in Albertville, Alabama.

Alayne was a member of CROSSROADS Christian Church in Grand Prairie, TX.  She was preceded in death by her husband of nearly 20 years; her cat “Whiskers”; and her parents.  Alayne is survived by her sister Linda Darden; her nephews and wives… Michael & Sara Darden, and Stacy & Patricia Darden; her great nephews Mikie, Zane, and Kayd Darden; her great nieces Kylie Darden and Viktoria Tapia (all of Grand Prairie, TX); her sister-in-law Sandra Crowley and niece Jennifer Crowley of Birmingham, AL; and her nephew Robbie Crowley of Nashville, TN.

Alayne had a passion for traveling and cooking; and her many hobbies included:   restoring furniture, making memory scrapbooks (most of them being for her great nieces and nephews), crafting, reading, painting, sewing, and writing stories about her cat “Whiskers” (she was also an avid letter writer to family and friends throughout the years).  Alayne loved Bible study and going to church; she was a loving and most generous lady, faithfully supporting her church and many charities, naming: Life Outreach International, Jewish Voice, and Hal Lindsey Media Ministry.  She will be missed dearly by her family and friends.

 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”  Romans 15:13

(Alayne arrived at the hospital on the ­15^th of April, 2018, and passed away 13 days later.)

Please leave the family condolences and share memories on this website.