MARSHFIELD — Rev. Dr. Nehemiah “Bob” Boynton III, of Marshfield, MA, passed away on March 7, 2020 at the age of 93. He was the husband of the late Frances Wilde Boynton.
Born in Boston, MA on March 30, 1926, the son of the late Nehemiah Boynton, Jr. and Eleanor Brown Boynton, he grew up in Waban, MA, with his two sisters, Peg and Miriam. He graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, MA in 1944, and in the same year enlisted in the U.S. Naval Air Corps, later given an Honorable Discharge in August 1945. He graduated from Amherst College in 1949 and married Dorothy Thompson Boynton (former spouse) the following year, with whom he had four children.
Post-graduate work aimed toward the ministry began at Union Theological Seminary in 1950 and continued at the Hartford Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 1953 and began his lifelong dedication to the church. He was an Interim Pastor at the Church of the Highlands in Winchester Center, CT and then a Student Pastor at the Northfield Congregational Church in CT. Next, he became Associate Minister at the Church in the Highlands in White Plains, NY and subsequently Minister at the First Congregational Church in Stockbridge, MA where his congregation became the first in the nation to join the newly established national United Church of Christ (“UCC”). He was called to the Congregational Church of South Dartmouth in the Fall of 1967, where he continued his ministry until his retirement in 1990.
In 1972, he married Frances Wilde Braley and took on the responsibility of her six children with great enjoyment. His combined family mushroomed to comprise an additional sixteen wonderful grandchildren!
During his ‘retirement’, he enjoyed continuing his ministry at many of his denomination’s local churches including Pilgrim UCC in New Bedford. In addition, at the age of 78, he earned his Doctor of Ministry Degree at the Andover Newton Theological School with over 50 members of his proud family in attendance. His research thesis was entitled, “In the Seven-League Boots of the ‘Sky Pilot’: The Ministry of the Reverend Nehemiah Boynton, D.D., L.L.D.”
Among many other organizations, he was involved with the Church and Ministry Committee of the Old Colony Association, the Steering Committee of the Westchester County Council of Social Agencies, and the White Plains Council of Community Services. He was also involved with the Inter-Church Council of Greater New Bedford, and the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference of the UCC. We cannot forget his membership at the New Bedford Yacht Club in South Dartmouth, MA and his abiding passion for boats and the water.
Along with his wife, Fran, he enjoyed traveling (always by car!) to visit family and friends. And most particularly, over the course of his entire life, did he enjoy his summer respites at Five Islands, ME, vacationing with his family on Malden Island where his grandfather, Rev. Dr. Nehemiah Boynton, resided summers and sailed those waters in his much-beloved Friendship sloop, “Sky Pilot”.
He was predeceased by his wife, Fran, in 2018, after 46 years of marriage and also predeceased by his son Paul, in 1963, his daughter Grace, in 1993, and his daughter Carolyn, in 2020.
He leaves seven children and their spouses: Carter and Pat Boynton of Fort Meyers, FL, Charlotte Boynton and Antonio Sanfilippo of Doha, Qatar, Fred and Jane Braley of Wayland, MA, Jane Braley Bowse of Medfield, MA, Betty Ann and Ken Nass of Wilmington, NC, Joanne and Pete Haugstad of Kingston, MA and Sallyann and Michael Roberts of Duxbury, MA. He also leaves 15 grandchildren: Michelle, Paul, Matt, Lauren, Haley, Molly, Connor, Shaun, Cameron, Abby, Kyle, Michael, Maggie, Thomas and John.
“The Rev” was truly a man dedicated to his ministry, which he lived every second of every day. “What a gift”, “What a blessing”, and “This Too Shall Pass” were perhaps his most often used phrases during his long and fulfilling life. We are all thankful to have been a part of the gift and the blessing that The Rev was to all of us. As Rev would repeat daily, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Celebration of his life will take place at the Congregational Church of South Dartmouth on Thursday, March 12 at 11:00am to be followed there by a time of gathering.
In lieu of flowers and to honor the Cranberry Hospice angels that cared so well for our dad, gifts may be made to Beth Israel Deaconess Plymouth and mailed to Philanthropy Office, Beth Israel Deaconess Plymouth, 275 Sandwich Street, Plymouth, MA 02360 or online at www.bidplymouth-giving.org/give-now/ and direct your gift to Cranberry Hospice.