Boyce Lucas Wolff

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(July 11, 1923 - June 14, 2014)

Longtime rural Powell resident Boyce Lucas Wolff died on June 14, 2014, at the age of 90.

He was preceded in death by parents Carl Gustav Wolff and Marie Lucas Wolff, wife Gloria and grandsons Randall “Luke” Lucas Pratt (2001) and Army Sgt. Christopher Michael Parodi (2010).

Boyce is survived by his blended family of four daughters (Marlene O’Leary, Karla McAnally, Kristen Porter and Gretchen Bullock), five step-daughters (Laura Bieber, Cheryl Parodi, Diana Sandlin, Susan Dolk and Meri Pomeroy), 20 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and his best friend and companion of 28 years, Josephine Troyer, and her son Jim Troyer.

He was born on July 11, 1923, in Rapid City, S.D. (his paternal grandparents were immigrant homesteaders in the late 1800s). Boyce spent his youth in the San Diego and Los Angeles areas of California where he graduated from high school at the Brown Military Academy and attended the University of Southern California (USC) before joining the U.S. Army.

He was part of the “Greatest Generation,” someone who grew up during the Great Depression and then went on to fight in World War II, not for fame or recognition, but because it was the right thing to do. Serving in L Company, 3rd Battalion, 103rd (Cactus) Division of the 410th Infantry Regiment, he was responsible for the company’s only Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) as they campaigned on foot through France and Germany. Never one to dwell in the past, it was only in his later years that those memories were shared with family.

Known as a man who could fix anything by fabricating a custom part or tool, Boyce lived and worked in Wisconsin, Northern California, and South Dakota before making Powell his home, working as a journeyman machinist for Superior Machine Company until retirement. 

His many interests included boating, waterskiing, fishing, camping and traveling. His love of reading was a gift from his schoolteacher mother, Marie, who taught him to read before the age of 5. 

He was a supporter of many civic groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the Elks, and was a life member of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Per his wishes, interment will be near his father Carl (a World War I veteran) at the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, S.D. Military interment will be held at the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis on June 27, at 1 p.m.

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