Along with being a farmer, Boyd worked at a local mill in Chester, South Carolina, and played baseball for the mill's team. The week prior to his death he sustained a head injury during a game. There is some speculation that perhaps his death was related to that injury (aneurysm theory).
That February mmorning in 1941 when Boyd began to feel ill and visited the local doctor. However, the local doctor mistook Boyd for one of his brothers, Walker, thinking he was intoxicated and was playing a prank, and turned him away. (Boyd and his brother Walker strongly resembled each other.) Boyd went home, where his wife, Frances, and his younger son, Leon, were, and it is where he died. One must wonder whether Boyd's life could've been saved if, instead of turning the patient away, the doctor had taken Boyd seriously and attempted to treat the symptoms.
In 1999 Boyd's niece, Ruth Lee, recounted that just a few days prior to his death Boyd was in perfect health. Ruth had baked a pound cake for a church function and Boyd was begging her to give him a piece of the cake. She remarked, "If I could go back now I'd give him that whole cake for him to eat."
Boyd's death was not only an emotional blow to his family but a financial one as well. His wife, Frances, was forced to leave the house and find work to support her two young sons, Phil (age 6) and Leon (age 4). She relied heavily on her faith and her family to pull her through those difficult times.
Along with being a farmer, Boyd worked at a local mill in Chester, South Carolina, and played baseball for the mill's team. The week prior to his death he sustained a head injury during a game. There is some speculation that perhaps his death was related to that injury (aneurysm theory).
That February mmorning in 1941 when Boyd began to feel ill and visited the local doctor. However, the local doctor mistook Boyd for one of his brothers, Walker, thinking he was intoxicated and was playing a prank, and turned him away. (Boyd and his brother Walker strongly resembled each other.) Boyd went home, where his wife, Frances, and his younger son, Leon, were, and it is where he died. One must wonder whether Boyd's life could've been saved if, instead of turning the patient away, the doctor had taken Boyd seriously and attempted to treat the symptoms.
In 1999 Boyd's niece, Ruth Lee, recounted that just a few days prior to his death Boyd was in perfect health. Ruth had baked a pound cake for a church function and Boyd was begging her to give him a piece of the cake. She remarked, "If I could go back now I'd give him that whole cake for him to eat."
Boyd's death was not only an emotional blow to his family but a financial one as well. His wife, Frances, was forced to leave the house and find work to support her two young sons, Phil (age 6) and Leon (age 4). She relied heavily on her faith and her family to pull her through those difficult times.
Family Members
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Annie Holmes Lee
1890–1972
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James Chalmers Lee
1891–1966
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Janie Ethel Lee Grant
1893–1983
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George Waddell Lee
1895–1965
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Paul Lee Sr
1897–1987
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Iva Lowry Lee Robinson
1898–1989
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Joseph Carl Lee
1902–1945
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Jerry Oswald Lee
1902–1979
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Emmie Lunette Lee Grant
1904–1987
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Infant Son Lee
1906–1906
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PFC Walker Elwood Lee
1909–1973
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Eula L. Lee Cardwell
1910–2007
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