Frederick William Boyd

“Treasured memories keep you near”

Fred passed away in the care of Leighton Hospital on 3rd July 2021 aged 82 years

Beloved husband of Roe. Much Loved Brother to David and the late Marjorie. Cherished Brother in law to Rosalyn and a Dearest Uncle who will be fondly remembered and sadly missed.

Fred, a kind, caring, thoughtful and generous man who was single minded but incredibly easy going.  He had always been extremely hard working, a perfectionist who took great pride anything he did yet he had a great sense of humour and thoroughly enjoyed a laugh.

He was a gentleman, politely quiet and reserved just like his soulmate Ro, two halves to a whole and perfectly suited, except when it came to music!  Fred really didn’t like any music.  One Christmas, he even bought Ro a decent set of headphones!  What a lovely gesture but in reality, the headphones were probably a present to himself so he could watch his TV in peace, whilst in charge of the remote control!

He was completely hooked on anything to do with crime or the police, CSI being one of his favourites and he was enthralled by nature programmes especially when David Attenborough was involved.

He did used to sneek a peek at Corrie from behind his newspaper although he would most likely deny it but it goes without saying he did not like strictly or X Factor and Ro used to watch her programmes on the old TV upstairs but at least she could clean the bathroom during the adverts!

Fred had a great sense of humour and thoroughly enjoyed a laugh.

Welcomed into the world on 17th May 1939, Fred was the middle of three siblings.  His older sister Marjorie was four years older than him and two years older than David, so she was always way ahead of the boys.  Living in Crewe, David fondly remembers he and Fred went to Eddleston Road School until Fred gained a place at Crewe Grammar.  David would most likely have joined him there but in 1952 they moved to Ireland and as well as it being a major turning point in their lives, it was also the year George VI died.

Their mum Dorothy was a strong Irish lady who pretty much brought the children up single handed.  Sadly, their dad Bill was shellshocked in the war and with no help on offer for our heroes back in the day, Dorothy felt the need to return to Ireland to be amongst family and friends.

Fred and David picked up their education at the Royal School Dungannon whereas Marjorie didn’t join the family in Ireland until she had finished University, so the boys were incredibly close.  During their teens, Fred and David ventured abroad together and they both fell in love with water skiing.  They returned home from one of their holidays and decided to buy a boat between them.  David stripped down the Johnson forty horsepower engine making it as good as new and Fred set about restoring the hull.   He finished off his meticulous handy work by painting the boat with yacht varnish and the pair of them invested in skis and wetsuits.

They spent most evenings water skiing or just razzing around on Loch Rouguan, a stretch of water owned by their uncle and apparently someone asked him who the idiots were on his lake! None the less, they spent many happy hours there together.

They also shared a love of cars and travelled from Northern Ireland to London in the days when BEA was an airline and they flew on a Viscount Vanguard Twin Propeller aircraft to visit the Motor Show at Earls Court and after one of their trips, Fred bought his first car, a Morris Minor.

Fred’s working life started with a Saturday job in McQueen’s Jewellers in Dungannon before embarking on a career as a credit controller with the textile and clothing manufacturers Courtaulds in Ireland.  Fred trained on the job and later transferred to Moy Park in Crewe, progressing to the role of Accountant and the reason he met his lovely wife Ro.

Fred had the responsibility of paying in the company takings at Lloyds bank where Ro worked as a cashier.  They clearly liked each other but were both quite reserved.  As luck would have it her friend Toots worked with Fred, so she set about introducing them and of course she succeeded in bringing about the perfect match although it wasn’t a whirlwind romance!

They courted for around four years before getting engaged.  They enjoyed a drink in their local, The Tollmarche Arms and liked to drive further out to places like the Swetenham Arms near Congleton.  They often went to Chester to walk round the river and would browse round the shops especially at night which pleased Fred because they were shut! And of course, like many courting couples, they loved to go to the pictures or just spent the evening at home with RO’s mum and dad.

When Fred proposed, he didn’t go down on one knee, but he did ask her dad’s permission and they went to Hatton Garden in London to buy her ring, before rounding the day off with a celebratory meal.

After exchanging their lasting vows on 1st November 1975 at Weston Church, they honeymooned in Malta and lived in Nantwich for thirteen years before moving to Wistaston.  Fred still worked at Moy Park and Ro had remained at the bank.

They had lots of amazing holidays all over the world visiting fabulous destinations like Hawaii, Bermuda, Hong Kong and Barbados to name but a few.  They also went on the trip of a lifetime with David and mum Dorothy, flying on Concorde before cruising on the QE2 and Dorothy also went on one of their many trips to Florida.

Fred had varied interests, he was an avid reader who normally liked to read crime novels and when he was younger, he was keen on the Simon Templar stories about the ‘The Saint’ but then when he watched it on TV, he was of the opinion Roger Moore was a little too suave for the role!

Fred also had a passion for guns.  He started up and ran a gun club in Ireland and I gather when the Irish firearms laws changed, Fred made his own bullets with his pal Walter!  Fred continued shooting when he returned to Crewe and became a member of the NW Mercia Pistol Club where he spent many happy hours and only stopped going after his stroke.

He and Ro were members of the Nantwich Film Club and on Tuesday evenings, they both enjoyed watching really good films that had been shown fairly recently at the cinema.

And when they weren’t away on holiday, they loved it when David and Rosaleen were away so they could look after their adorable King Charles Cavalier Cammie.

A lovely man who will be missed beyond words.

His funeral will take place on Monday 19th July 2021 at Crewe Crematorium Chapel

Donations in memory of Fred are going to Alzheimer’s Society & Kidney Care UK

For further information about Fred’s funeral please telephone our Funeral Home on 01270 584447