My sincere sympathies to Pat and the girls
I truly enjoyed meeting up with Bob and Pat in the winter months
We shared many stories about our Fitchburg upbringing .
You were one of the best men that I knew
God Speed
Love
Jackie Therrien Soltys

This is Frank Fitzpatrick, engine test group,PW

I had the good fortune to work with your dad for many years on the F100 engine. He was the PSA Group manager for F100 performance but always had time to explain the situation to the performance  “unwashed” like me. 

He was a fine man, and well thought of by the F100 team. 
My deepest sympathy for your loss.

I’m so sorry to hear of Bob’s passing.

I served with Bob on our Garden Isles neighborhood committee for many years.   Bob was always a joy to meet with, and had a great spirit and smile.  He contributed much to our neighbors.
He will be greatly missed for many reasons.

May God comfort you and your family and give you peace.
God bless you.

My dad, Bob Kay started with P&WA in 1958. We had 3 apartments at 431 49th street near Spruce Ave. in West Palm.  I was 3 or 4 when your dad lived there.  It was really cool to meet these young engineers.   A bunch of neat guys to a little kid, engineer to be,  like me.  
Bruce Kay

Your father had quite the sense of humor as well. Up on the third floor west end one day many years later, he was standing by a file cabinet and there was something very obviously wrong “with this picture” and I started to grin. Gene was almost 6 foot 2 inches, I was 6 foot 1 inch and your father was taller than either Gene or myself. Well, it turned out that he was standing on a stack of three printout binders. He looked at me, put his head in his hand and muttered “Oh God, here it comes.” There was only one thing to do, and that was to start singing a line from the then-new Randy Newman song “Short People”. We all had a good laugh over my feeble joke.

I truly valued your father’s guidance and his friendship that he freely gave to me, and Lord knows I needed it at times. I truly will miss him.

I first met your father on July 11, 1978, at the leased RCA facility in Palm Beach Gardens. I was a new Grade 42 assigned to the F100 simulation group under Gene Grubbs, and Bob was a newly minted Grade 50/second level supervisor that Gene (and the rest of us) reported to. Bobby (and I do think I was the only engineer that got the right to use the familial of his name) always was so kind and helpful to me as well as all the rest of us then-youngsters. It didn’t matter if it was a technical issue, working on an assignment that he himself would give to me sometimes, or the ever present “office politics issue” that seemed to constantly crop up. He would always take time to help me and guide me along through those issues.

I remember one such story where, as I was working on Hypersonic flight systems, a question arose about the SR-71 engine nacelle which housed the P&W J-58 and how it worked, etc. I had a “tenth generation copy” that had been put together in the print shop many years ago. Well, in the course of getting the needed details, your father pulled out the original drawing he made by hand, out at the Lockheed Skunk Works! He did this was a flourish and great aplomb and I was very suitably impressed! There were many more of this kind of event that occurred and I still can remember most of them.

I'm very sorry to hear about your dad. I worked with Bob for many years at Pratt & Whitney, mainly in Florida. I joined Pratt & Whitney in 1978, right after I graduated from the University of Vermont as a mechanical engineer. I transferred to his department and started working with him in 1982. He was a man of total integrity and never let office politics influence his decisions or his actions. He was always supportive of women in engineering at a time when there were few of us and many others were not welcoming. He was an expert and the go-to person for anything having to do with engine/propulsion system performance. He was a lovely man. 

I'm very sorry about your loss. May his memory comfort you in the days and years ahead.

As head of the assembly floor at Government Product Division, we had the responsibility of overhauling a few J-58 engines a year. We confronted a problem on one engine and if not for Bob, really not sure what would have happened. He took our information and returned a day later with a solution. Didn’t know him before then but we were friends for sure afterwards. RIP my friend.

The Boyds were very good friends of ours.

My late husband Carl joined the Blackbird team in 1964.

We made three trips to California staying for 6 months at a time. We wives had no clue where the guys were going every day.

We were busy enjoying a new area and taking care of our small children.

Carl brought home tickets to TV shows filmed in Burbank. I was on “Let’s Make a Deal” and won a beautiful hutch and a set of China.

Pratt &Whitney paid all our bills and to a young couple, it was a chance to save a few dollars and see a few famous sites.

It was ten years later when Carl could tell me why we were in California.

He made many trips to Edward’s Air Force base.

Carl retired in 1993 as manager of the NASP and I believe Bob was also in this group.

Bob was a great family man is sorely missed.

I am sad to provide this note about the passing of my teammate and friend Bob Boyd. 

He was a talented, dedicated, and professional engineer and a selfless person. 

I enjoyed working with Bob on many P&W programs. 

He was always willing to help and with his extensive experience in programs from the J58, RL10, F100, F119, F135 and others he always provided credible, understandable, and accepted answers and solutions to address the challenges of developing and supporting P&W 's products. 

His background from participating in these diverse programs led me to have many interesting historical discussions with Bob after we both had retired. 

He was also a link back to P&W happenings by editing and distributing the Old Eagles Updates. 

I will miss him greatly.

 

Phil

I believe they were taking a trip down memory lane to when dad was a young engineer with hair, wearing muscle shirts (or maybe that's a pack of cigs in the sleeve) and using a slide rule.

We celebrated Dad's 65th birthday with a Banana Dream cake and black decor! It was a good day.

Nancy and I are so saddened by Bob’s passing.  He and Pat stood up for us at our wedding in California so many years ago.  It was good to see him when we were together in 2019 during our visit to the Palm Beach area.
Our prayers and thoughts go out to Pat and his family.

Chuck and Nancy Randall

OBITUARY

Robert Franklin Boyd

February 13, 1936 – October 16, 2024

Howard-Quattlebaum Funeral, Cremation and Event Center

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