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James Fredrick Boyce was born on April 27, 1940 and died on October 28, 2017.
Jimmy, as he was known to everyone around him, was born in late April of 1940 to Zel and Fred Boyce. His father, Dr. Boyce, as he was known to all Jimmy’s friends, was a chiropractor.
Jim attended grade school with us ‘North-Siders’ until his parents enrolled him in Saint Thomas Academy in Saint Paul. Military in culture it was a school that Jimmy couldn’t wait to leave. He really wanted to join his buddies at good old “Park High”.
His dad had treated so many long term football injuries in his chiropractic practice that he forbade Jimmy to play the sport. What better motivator for Jim to go ahead and try out for the team? Small, he was to make his mark rather in hockey than football, playing the second line along with Jack Burke and Pete Eckenberg.
All of us from the neighborhood partied together. Some of that gang were Steve Sjordal, Jack Burke and to a slight degree Jerry Thompson, and Jack Buhse. Jimmy was one of the great party leaders virtually his whole life.
A really bright man, he was to become a highly successful stock broker and investor. He married late and he and his wife Sandy were parents of two beautiful children – a boy and girl.
His declining years took him away from Minnesota in the winter, (good sense there), and to the homes of a number of friends around the country. He never lost touch with those of us who really were his stalwart friends.
He visited Steve Sjordal in 2013 or so and Steve felt that the visit may indeed be their last face-to-face visit.
Recently Jimmy’s brother-in-law Gene called with the sad news of Jim’s sister Sally’s death in the fall of 2017. Through Gene, who gave the knowledge of Jim’s whereabouts, a visit by Chuck Johnson and Steve Sjordahl in July of 2017 was made possible. Recently Steve called the nursing home where Jim was a resident only to be informed that Jimmy had passed, 2 weeks before, on October 28th 2017. He had a “Do Not Resuscitate” order in place and when a severe pneumococcal infection began to take its toll the staff at the home where he was living followed his instructions.
Though the years had taken a severe toll on Jimmy and the man he once was, his death has produced genuine grieving among those who were at one time close to him. His care giver gave the place of his burial as Lakewood Cemetery, 3600 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN.
This notice was written by one of Jimmy Boyce’s best friends in High School: Classmate Steven Sjordahl. We thank Steve for keeping as good a track of Jimmy as was possible, which was a veritable challenge.
Jimmy entered St. Louis Park High School in our Junior year, and played on both our hockey and baseball teams during our Senior year. The class of ‘58 has lost a notable member.
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Bill Murray
God speed Jimmy ! 👍
Kurt Schleicher
Jim Boyce, a very colorful person who came from a wonderful family. I got to know them all well and spent many an hour in their kitchen talking with Zelda and DR. Boyce I always called him. It was a second home to me in many ways and I felt very comforable there with many interesting conversations about life, living and the world around us.
Dr. Boyce was an AWESOME CHIROPRACTOR who took care of my growing back for many years....have met a lot of other DRS but none in my opinion were as good as he was. I was always healed with his gifted hands. I have many memories of Jim. He had a 1953 BSA Golden Flash, he would need my car and I LOVED his bike and had many a wonderful times riding all over.....it also entailed tighting the chain all the time. We went on holiday one week with my family up to Stugeon Lake in Northern Minnesota and I can still remember him following our car on his BSA, a little green wih envy. We had a great time with all of us together.
I remember the "Golden House" in Golden Valley when he would play poker with a lot of guys doing construction who were twice his size. He would win all their momey and we nicknamed him Bret. It was always a wonder to me how he made it out of there alive, he was a great poker player.
He was quite the guy and very fast and good fighter. Will always remember him with a short sleve blue shirt, rolled up sleeves and his unique personality. A very good friend. Kurt Spike Schleicher
Gerald Thompson
God bless you Jim, and thanks to Steve Sjordal for posting your Bio. I just have a small correction to mention, I think Jim's birthday was April 30th, not the 27th. I recall, our neighborhood gang had our birthdays clumped together. Jim's was April 30th, mine three days later, May 3rd, Steve Sjordal's is May 9th, and Jack Burke's was May 10th. I have many fond "growing-up" memories with Jim. His Dad was an awesome story teller. The two I remember most, is he once mentioned how his parents had made the trip from Ohio to Minnesota in a wagon train. Along the way, they were frequently stopped by curious Indians, who mostly just wanted to say hello. Jim's Dad said they always offered the Indians trinkets like mirrors or other European items. He added, that the Indians would always return the next day and give something back to show their good-will and thankfulness, with an animal hide or some leather goods. The second story I won't forget Dr. Boyce telling, was when he was a little boy, he heard that the Wright Brothers were demonstrating their flying-machine at the Minnesota State Fair. He didn't have enough money to get into the grandstand area of their flying demo, but he watched them through a knot hole in one of the fences. I also fondly remember how in the winter, after getting home from school and eating dinner, I would put on my skates at home, and skate the five or six blocks down the frozen streets to the skating rink at 29th and Webster. We'd play shinney hockey until about 9pm, practically every night. The regular guys there were Jim Boyce, Steve Sjordal, Vern Jarosak, Brice Martinson, and Jack Burke from our class, plus upper classman John Plaisted, Scott Matchen, and Roger Atwood. Sometimes we'd have some fun with the neighborhood girl classmates playing pom-pom-pull-away with Jane McCanney, Cricket Atwood, and I think Donna Rose. That whole gang of shinney hockey players from the Webster rink ended up playing Varsity hockey! I also remember Jim, when he went to Holy Family Catholic School, was a regular alter boy participating in the Sunday Mass frequently. He was also a fine Cub & Boy Scout, as I remember his many badges and awards, I think he even made Eagle Scout! Other fond memories include riding our motorcycles together, but of course on his BSA, he could not keep up to my Triumph T110.
Jim, God bless you again, thanks for all the memories and being a close friend!
Gerald Thompson
Just a knit comment on Jim's fine BSA motorcycle. Just for the record, I think Jim's bike was a 1954 BSA Road Rocket, A10 Model. The Road Rocket was the first BSA twin with a 650 cc displacement, introduced to keep up with the successful Triumph twins, Thunderbird, T110, etc. BSA also made the Shooting Star twin, similar to the Road Rocket model, but with a smaller 500cc displacement. I'm not familiar with the BSA Golden Flash, I'll have to look it up. Just did and it looks like the Golden Flash models always came in gold metallic paint. They were also 650 twins, but Jim's bike was black, red and chrome, and hence most likely a Road Rocket model. I vaugely remember that the gas tank had a neat "Road Rocket" decal on it. Of course, the most fantastic BSA of the 50's I remember was the 500cc single, Gold Star "thumpers" like the one Bobby Sykora rode with us. Today I think the Gold Stars are worth big $$$$ compared to all the other BSA models.