Las Cruces - Benjamin M. Boykin, 90, of Las Cruces, New Mexico went to be with the Lord on April 3rd, 2020. He was born March 3rd,1930 in Clarendon, Texas, the second son of late G. L. Boykin and Edna Matthews Boykin. Ben attended Las Cruces Union High and later went on to graduate from NMSU in 1952 with a BS in Electrical Engineering. He was an active member of the NMSU Klipsch Electrical and Computer Engineering Academy. He lettered in football at NMSU, played in the Aggie Pride Band and was president of the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity (TKE). Ben was also a member of the Varsity Eleven Dance Band. After graduating he went on to serve in the United State Air Force as a Second Lieutenant and was a pilot flying an F-86F Sabre Jet. Ben remained in the USAF Reserve retiring as a Major after 28 plus years in 1982. Ben continued on to have engineering positions of Supervisor, Manager and Project Manager on the Apollo Program. He was the Test Site Project Engineer for NAA/Rockwell at NASA JSC-Houston for the manned Thermal Vacuum Program in the NASA Thermal Vacuum Chamber. As his career moved on he went on to a Manager position of the Project Engineering organization on Apollo before transferring to a similar position on the Space Shuttle Program. In 1994 he relocated to his hometown of Las Cruces, NM where he became the Program Manager to manage the maintenance and operations of the NASA White Sands Test Facility. He was active in his community. He was a member at St. Paul's United Methodist Church; Rockwell International Representative; President/Lieutenant (Certified Fire Fighter), Brooks Volunteer FD; Treasurer, NASA/Houston AIAA Chapter; Member, Bay Area United Way Executive Advisory Board; Former Member/Chairman, Southwest Space Task Force; Former Member/Chairman, Presidents Associates, NMSU; Member, NMSU Aggie Athletic Club; He also took great pride in making wooden hand-made crosses. He has made some 400 or so wooden crosses for family and friends. Shortly after the passing of Ben, his wife of 21 years Janis Rodgers Baker Boykin passed away May 12th, 2020.

Ben is survived by his daughter Beth D'Angelo; daughter Laura Beck and husband John; son Jonathan Boykin and wife Liz; daughter Susan Sterner and husband Troy; son Scott Boykin and wife Marie; son Brian Boykin and wife Beth; and daughter Kimberly Farran and husband Todd; sister Betty Wolle; 18 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and a bunch of nephews and nieces scattered across the country. Benjamin was preceded in death by his brothers Jim Boykin and Ed Boykin; his second wife Gwendolyn Boykin; his first wife Donna Boykin; his grandson Sean Richardson.

A memorial service will be held in his honor on March 5th, 2022 at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Las Cruces, NM at 10:00 A.M. Burial of his cremains will follow at Masonic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to The Cowboys For Cancer Research. PO Box 202 Dona Ana, NM 88032 or at www.c4cr.com

Posted online on February 02, 2022

Published in Las Cruces Sun News