Mr. Billy Jack Boyce

BOYCE, Mr. Billy Jack - Age 85, passed away Monday, January 9, 2023, at McLaren-Flint. Family hour 1:00 PM Friday, January 20, 2023, from the Chapel of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home, 906 W. Flint Park Blvd., with funeral service commencing at 1:30 PM. Interment Flint Memorial Park Cemetery, G-9506 N. Dort Hwy., Mt. Morris, MI. Friends and pallbearers will assemble at the funeral home 1:00 PM Friday. Mr. Boyce will lie in state in the Chapel of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home and may be viewed from 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM with family present from 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM to receive friends. Billy Jack Boyce was born in Covington, Tennessee on January 21, 1937, the son of Bob and Lou Fater Boyce. At an early age, he joined Plummer Grove C.M.E. Church. He united in marriage to Dorothy Burrell to the union four children were born, Patricia (Ann), Donald, Sharon, and Glenda (Niecy) Boyce. Billy loved working on the farm but after a few years, he wanted a better life for his family. In 1966, he moved his family to Flint, Michigan and was hired into Flint Truck & Bus, a division of General Motors Corporation. He loved spending time with his family and was a very hard worker and a great provider. He would do roofing and carpentry work with his good friend Robert Muex, his son, Donald Sr. and grandsons, Marquavis and Donald Jr. He even traveled to Tennessee to do his mother-in-law's roof. His nickname was “The Roofing Man”. He loved talking to and receiving phone calls from his out-of-town relatives and friends. He loved cutting grass on his tractor. He loved going fishing and working in his garden and was very proud of being able to share it with our Sunday dinners. He loved to help others and anyone he met was never a stranger. He loved traveling and looked forward every year to taking his family to visit their hometown Covington, Tennessee. Billy would work hard and purchase fixer-upper houses and cars and today, the family has learned to do the same using what he shared with us and he was always proud to see us accomplish what he taught us. He loved sitting on the back porch listening to Gospel music. But his favorite spot was sitting in his recliner chair in the corner where he would fall asleep. And if you would ask him about it, he would tell you he wasn’t asleep, but his daughter Niecy would take pictures at that moment and share it with him and he would laugh. His vision was for his family to have more in life and today we are really grateful for what he has done. Today we know the true meaning of a family and we are very thankful and will forever cherish it in our hearts. Billy Jack Boyce leaves to cherish his memory: loving wife of 65 years, Dorothy Boyce; sister, Mary Sanders (Covington, Tennessee); sisters-in-law, Dovie Boyce (Covington, Tennesse), Myrtle Burrell (Detroit, Michigan), Lee A. Laster (Gary, Indiana); son, Donald (Jackie) Boyce; daughter, Glenda (Niecy) Boyce (Derek); granddaughter, Latoya (Donnie) Scott; grandsons, Demetrious (Christina) Ridgell, Donald (Renee) Boyce Jr., Marquiste Boyce (Teresa), Marquavis Boyce (KeShara); great-granddaughters, Malayah Scott, Olivia Ridgell; great-grandsons, Kawan Turner, Gabriel Boyce, Miles Boyce; special cousins, John W. Burrell (brother), and Welton Burrell; close family friends, Levinest Hill, Melvin Adams, Frank Miller, Pastor Daniel Griffin, Jerry (J-Good) Goodlow, James Ishmel Jr., Berlin Turner; his Rankin Street family; his Detroit Street and Beecher area friends, family, and co-workers; a host of cousins, other relatives, and friends. Billy was preceded in death by parents, Bob and Lou Fater Boyce; sisters, Sarah Moore, Louise Brown, Louise Woods, Janie Whitley, and Dorothy Summerville; brothers, Richard Cotton, Charlie Boyce, Robert Boyce, and James Boyce; daughters, Sharon Yvonne Boyce and Patricia Ann Boyce-Johnson; grandsons, Kinyata Andre Boyce and Devonte’ Andre Boyce; many aunts and uncles. The family would like to express special thanks to Pastor Daniel Griffin and the El Bethel Evangelistic Baptist Church family, Pastor Frederick Flowers Sr. and the Promise Tabernacle Church family, Pastor Charles E. Roots and the Canaan Baptist Church family.

Mr. Billy Jack Boyce

January 21, 1937 - January 9, 2023