Warren George Boyett

Our dad, our hero. El Viejo has left us. Warren George Boyett, "Butch," born on 9 September 1941, went on to the next life on 15 June 2022 at 0045. He had quite an amazing life. He packed several lifetimes of living by the seat of your pants into 80 funny, loving, beautiful years. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Butch was a very young survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, where his dad was stationed. His family left Hawaii not long after that fateful day and relocated to Jacksonville, FL, which would serve as their eventual retirement community. Throughout his young life, he spent time off the coast of Panama on tuna fishing boats, the Sea Magic and the Corsair, every summer, where he fished for large tuna, and also picked up Spanish, a skill he retained for life. On those boats, he traveled to Puerto Rico, the coasts of Venezuela, Colombia, and many other ports. He even fell off one of the boats and was almost abandoned at sea but luckily, someone saw him fall in and turned the boat around. Those months spent on the ocean marked Butch for life and imbued him with a love of sea, ships, and adventure. Despite his love of sailing ships and the sea, Butch knew he had a different destination in life: the US Army. Butch always wanted to jump out of planes & shoot guns. He got his wish, initially enlisting in the Army, before receiving his commission and becoming a US Army officer. The Army took Butch to Korea, shortly after he married the love of his life, Marsha Elaine Fromhart, in July 1964. He spent the first year of their marriage in Korea, and in rapid succession, followed that up with his first tour in Vietnam in 1967. During that tour of combat young Lt Boyett was wounded in combat. He spent time recovering in Camp Zama, Japan, with an upbeat attitude and a desire to rejoin his men in the fight. Butch would go on to serve another tour in Vietnam away from Marsha and his two young daughters, Kathey and Tracy. Eventually the family would grow to include Michael and Lisa, while being stationed in Panama. And, in Germany, little Kevin would complete the family of seven. Butch's love of adventure and passion for living brought him to many corners of the world. One such place was Beirut, Lebanon for a six month tour in the Defense Attache Office in 1982-1983, which was his last overseas assignment in the Army before retirement. He was set to return home by May, but on 18 April 1983, the US Embassy was attacked and it was unknown for several hours whether or not Butch had survived. Despite the events of that day, Butch carried with him fond memories from that tour and a love of the Lebanese people. Post military, he and his life partner, Marsha wanted their kids to experience life overseas, so they uprooted their three youngest and moved to Heidelberg, Germany. Butch would often say, "this ain't your practice life." And he very much lived that philosophy. They wanted to live where they'd have the opportunity to travel and experience life to the fullest. Parties, friends, new places, were all part of the life Butch and Marsha built for themselves in Germany, where they lived from 1987-1998. They often drew on the memories they made there, after having left and resettling in Frederick, MD. After having planted themselves back stateside, Butch worked for the Department of the Army until his second retirement, from civil service. During his employment in Ft Belvoir, Butch would often attend meetings at the Pentagon. One such meeting was set for 11 September 2001. Butch was running a bit late, uncharacteristically, for the meeting, and caught a shuttle bus over. During that bus ride, he and all the passengers would see the plane flying too low in the vicinity of the Pentagon. Then they saw the black smoke. After Dad retired, he enjoyed being home with Marsha, building his stamp collection, gardening, and sitting on the porch with Marsha watching the wildlife in their backyard oftentimes commenting, "isn't this great?" He loved simplicity and could appreciate joy and beauty in small things. Butch would make everyone in the room laugh hysterically, to his literal dying day. He was funny! But he also loved his family fiercely. He loved Marsha, his wife, partner, and friend of nearly 58 years passionately. He soaked every bit of living out of life. He is already deeply, sorely missed. He is survived by his loving wife Marsha, children Kathey (Dave), Tracy (Bill), Michael (Melissa), Lisa, and Kevin (Diana). He is also survived by grandchildren Shannon, Reilly, Katie, Andrew, Shelby, Savannah, Emma, and Jackson. Rest easy Warrior. We have the watch. A small, private service will be held by the family.

Warren George Boyett

September 9, 1941 - June 15, 2022