Former Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce was remembered by family members, friends and his fellow church members in East Cobb on Friday.
At a memorial service at Mt. Bethel United Church, where he was a member, Boyce was remembered as a faithful member of the U.S. Marine Corps, actively involved in church and community activities, and someone who liked to inspire and motivate others.
Boyce was 72 when he died in January, after suffering two strokes while attending a leadership seminar at the University of Notre Dame, his alma mater.
He served as chairman from 2017-2020, after ousting incumbent chairman Tim Lee in the Republican primary. Boyce lost his re-election bid in 2020 to Democrat Lisa Cupid.
His four years at the head of county government turned out to be culmination of his many local activities in Cobb after he married Judy Boyce, a longtime Marietta resident, 22 years ago.
Other remembrances came from his son Kevin, retired Mt. Bethel senior pastor Rev. Randy Mickler and his successor, Dr. Rev. Jody Ray.
(You can watch a replay of the service by clicking here.)
Bob Babcock, a Mt. Bethel member and former U.S. Army officer, talked about Boyce’s efforts to help his fellow veterans to sign up for their benefits. One of them went to a VA doctor as a result and after getting an early diagnosis of cancer, has been a survivor for 10 years.
“Mike’s legacy will never die,” Babcock said. “If you want to look for a legacy, don’t look for a monument, look at the person to the left or the right or in front of you, and ask, ‘How did Mike help you?’
“Most of us,” Babcock said, his voice breaking with emotion. “Most of us. . . Thank God for Mike Boyce.”
Rob Lee, Boyce’s political adviser for both his 2016 and 2020 races for chairman, said one of Boyce’s greatest attributes was his ability to inspire confidence in those around him.
Lee said whenever he felt he wasn’t up to a task, Boyce would say, “I trust you. I’m here because I trust you to help me get to where I want to be. . . . He just makes you want to work harder, to relish the relationship I had with him.”
That relationship, Lee said, transcended politics.
Boyce served 30 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, stationed around the world in his many capacities (Mt. Bethel choir members sang the Marines’ Hymn at the end of the service).
Mickler, who was the senior pastor at Mt. Bethel for 29 years, said “the real Mike Boyce had a streak. I won’t say it was mean, but I wouldn’t want to cross him.”
He said while he was driving Boyce around the campaign trail, Mickler asked him if he was fearful of knocking on doors in a “rough neighborhood.”
“Randy,” Mickler recalls Boyce telling him, “I can kill anybody. . . . 22 times . . . with my hands,” prompting the Mt. Bethel audience to erupt in laughter.
“I said, ‘OK, I got it, I got it,’ ” Mickler said.
At the end of his remarks, and after quoting from 1st Corinthians, Mickler said summing up Boyce’s life, “well done, good and faithful servant. Well done.”
Judy Boyce, a retired flight attendant, has attended Mt. Bethel for more than 40 years. When her husband retired from the Marines, they moved to East Cobb and he plunged right into church and community activities.
In her remarks at the service, she fought back tears talking about his easy-going nature around the house and his simple tastes.
“Mike never had a home,” she said. “He traveled, and when he came to Marietta, he said this was home.”
He liked to entertain people at home for dinner more than meet them at a restaurant, but on Saturdays the Boyces liked to have breakfast at Waffle House.
Boyce’s favorite restaurant was Panda Express and he also liked McDonald’s Happy Meals, she said, “but only the toy.”
“They’re low standards, but they’re mine,” she recalled him telling her, prompting more chuckling from the audience.
“I’m very grateful to God for the 22 years he gave me with Mike,” Judy Boyce said. “Rest in peace my Marine.”
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