Dorothy M. Boyd

Dorothy Marie Boyd (maiden name, Creech), known to family and friends as Dot, died unexpectedly and peacefully in Richboro, PA on June 25, 2024 at the age of 96. 

Dorothy is survived by her four children, Elizabeth Anne Rickett (Charlie) of Morrisville, PA, Margaret Mary McGough (Gene) of Long Neck, DE, David Andrew Boyd (Kim) of Mooresville, NC, and Patricia Therese Boyd (Jim Heagy) of Greenbelt, MD, as well as eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband Thomas John Boyd, her sister Louise Creech Moore and grandson Thomas Joseph deBlois. 

Dorothy was born on August 24, 1927 in Hopewell, VA to parents (the late) Joseph Milton Creech and Annie (Potter) Creech. She graduated from Hopewell High School at the age of 16 in 1944. Her yearbook describes her as “[A] delightful brunette who possesses both beauty and brains. An excellent student.” These qualities she embodied for her whole life. She recalled that so many of the Hopewell boys had gone off to war that their senior prom was nearly all girls. A child of the depression, she learned to be resourceful, sewing her own clothes and working full time as much as possible. She went to work helping to manage the store stock in a drug store at Camp Lee, Virginia where she caught the eye of a returning World War II army medic, “Tommy”, from New York City (in other words, a yankee), who began to come in every day and order a chocolate milkshake for breakfast, just to talk with “Dot.” They fell in love and soon eloped to Columbia, South Carolina where they were married in February 1946. Three boisterous and beautiful children soon followed, Betty Anne, Peggy and David. After moving the family to Charlottesville, VA for her husband’s undergraduate study at the University of Virginia, she nearly lost him when he fell seriously ill with polio and came close to death, due to an allergy to penicillin. After a miraculous but slow recovery, the family moved to Brooklyn, NY to be closer to Tommy’s parents. It was here that Dot learned how to make some of her children’s favorite dishes: the beloved scones, Yorkshire pudding, London Broil, Welch Rarebit and beef stroganoff, as well as the despised and regrettable mince. In 1956 they moved to Metuchen, New Jersey. They were members of the St. Francis Catholic Church, where the children also attended elementary school. In 1965 they welcomed their fourth and final child, Patricia, and two years later they moved from Jefferson Park to a Victorian house in Metuchen. A bit of a shambles when they took possession, with every window cracked, broken or missing, they slowly transformed the house into a showplace, with Dot sewing curtains, hanging wallpaper, and scouring the many antique shops in the area in successful searches and discoveries of stunning period pieces, furniture, clocks, old books, dishes and art. 

Dot delighted in being surrounded by her family, and her home became the central hub for every holiday and birthday celebration. Her children and grandchildren fondly remember many family gatherings featuring Dot as the consummate hostess, welcoming all generations into her beautiful home, and serving elaborate and delicious meals, topped off with her signature homemade desserts, such as chocolate cream, strawberry, coconut cream and butterscotch pies, brownies, turtles, ice box cake, chocolate chip cookies and fudge balls. 

Once they were empty nesters, Dot and Tom embarked on a new adventure, relocating to Grand Terrace, CA, where they enjoyed an active retirement focused on participating in the Scottish games, where Tommy was in a pipe and drum band. They enjoyed traveling around the dessert southwest US, until Tommy was stricken with an aggressive cancer which brought them back to their family, settling in at Peggy’s house St. Michael’s, MD. With a breaking heart, Dot and her children supported him through his illness until he predeceased her in 2000. Dot moved “back East” to be close to family in Langhorne, PA. For the last almost quarter century, Dot lived first on her own, next with Peggy and then with Betty Anne. They made sure that she continued to be surrounded by generations of family, including for every holiday and virtually every family birthday. She enjoyed trips with family to Seattle, and beach vacations in Wildwood, NJ and the Outer Banks, NC. She spent the last few months at Brookdale Assisted Living facility in Northampton, PA, where she continued to regularly receive visitors. 

Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren fondly remember her as a refined, beautiful lady with impecable style, a quick wit, an excellent memory, a serious sweet tooth, and a sharp sense of humor, who loved babies, small dogs, Elvis, and to share stories of the family’s history, to cheer on Philadelphia’s Eagles, Sixers and Phillies, and to watch Jeopardy nightly with Charlie. 

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Her family will be taking her back to St. Michael’s, MD for a memorial service at a later date, where she will finally be reunited with her beloved Tommy and laid to rest by his side—-the only place she ever wanted to be.