Obituary of Rev. John Eric Boyd

It is with great sadness that his family announces the sudden death of Rev. John Eric Boyd, age 74, at his home in Halifax, on Thursday, May 23rd, 2024. Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, John was the son of the late Eric and Margaret (Smith) Boyd. He was the eldest of eight children and graduated from Windsor Regional High School in 1968. He earned the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (1971) and Master of Divinity (1974) from Acadia University. As a student minister, he served pastorates in Advocate Harbour (summers 1969–71) and Kentville Baptist Church (1971–74). He was ordained as a Baptist minister in September 1974, and he served as minister of the Mahone Bay-Northwest-New Cornwall United Baptist Pastorate (1974–82), Senior Minister of First Baptist Church Amherst (1982–1988), and as Senior Minister of First Baptist Church Halifax for 27 years, retiring in April 2015. John has twice served as president of the Canadian Association for Baptist Freedoms (CABF), formerly Atlantic Baptist Fellowship, and was serving on the CABF Executive as well as on the Credentials and Website Committees. He served as president of the Atlantic Ecumenical Council, chair of the Atlantic Seminar in Theological Education, and president of the Acadia Divinity College Alumni. Throughout his ministry, he had been active in denominational, ecumenical and interfaith groups, such as Baptist Associations, the Interfaith Council of Halifax, the Acadia University Board of Governors and Senate, the Trustees of Acadia Divinity College, the Atlantic Ecumenical Council, the Highland View Hospital Pastoral Care Department, the Board of the Children’s Aid Society of Halifax, and the Board of Directors of the Alliance of Baptists. He recently served on the Canadian Council of Churches as a writing team member for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. John was increasingly committed to ecumenical and interfaith relationships, which continued into his retirement. He championed the full inclusion of 2SLGBTQ+ persons into Church life. In anticipation of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Nova Scotia, he led the congregation of First Baptist Church Halifax through two years of study and preparation which resulted in the adoption of a church policy supporting same-sex marriages. In 2011 he was one of the first Baptist ministers in Canada to conduct a same-sex wedding. John is survived by his beloved wife of nearly 46 years Deborah (Cuthbertson); their children Anthony (Jiyoung), South Korea; Adam (Michelle), Wolfville; and Alaina (Amy), Kingston, ON; his step-mother Mattie, Bedford; his brothers Barry, Avonport and Jim, Belleville, ON; his sisters Anne (Ron) Huestis, Bedford; Carolyn (Bill) Armstrong, Avonport; and Florence (David) Bartol, Bayswater; brother-in-law Richard (Evelyn) Cuthbertson and sister-in-law Rev. Barbara (Rev. Brad) Putnam; as well as many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents; brothers, Rev. Michael and Reginald “Reg”; and sister-in-law Krista. John had a great love for his family, enjoyed many summers spent at Lake Mush-a-Mush, daily walks, crossword puzzles, reading mysteries, staying informed on current events, weekly virtual “couples’ chat,” and travelling. Cremation has taken place under the care of T.J. Tracey Cremation and Burial Specialists, Halifax. A Memorial Service is Friday, May 31 at 4:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church Halifax, 1300 Oxford St, officiated by Rev. Dr. Rusty Edwards. A reception will follow. One may also join the service online at: https://fbchalifax.ca/fbch-online. A private family interment will be held in Maplewood Cemetery, Windsor. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to First Baptist Church Halifax.