James "Jim" Burton Boyer

Jim was born on January 5, 1946, in Seattle, Washington to Harold Roy Boyer and Doris Alberta DePue Boyer. He grew up on Orcas Island alongside his sister, Ellen Boyer Keller, whom he loved very much.

Jim proudly devoted more than two decades of his life to serving his country in the United States Air Force, retiring honorably as a Master Sergeant. A proud Vietnam veteran, Jim spent his career as a Tactical Aircraft Maintenance Technician, maintaining and servicing military aircraft. He was particularly proud to work on the F-4 Falcon. His service took him to Australia, Italy, Vietnam, England, and Korea before he retired from Bergstrom Air Force Base in 1985. During his distinguished military career, Jim received numerous honors and commendations, including the Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor, and multiple Air Force Good Conduct awards. While in England, Jim met Patricia (Pat/Patsy) Goodwin. They married on January 1, 1974, and shared three daughters and more than 52 years of marriage. Through Patsy, Jim became part of the large and close-knit Goodwin family, who saw him not as a son-in-law, but as one of them. In turn, when his own daughters married, Jim treated his sons-in-law as his own.

Following his retirement from the Air Force, Jim enjoyed a second career in maintenance at Eanes Independent School District, where he made lifelong friends who remained close and continued to visit him throughout his later years. Jim was proud of being a veteran and wore his veteran hat practically everywhere he went. At Jim’s Restaurant in Austin, where he was a regular and known to all the waitresses, customers would sometimes notice his hat and buy his breakfast. Jim would return that kindness by doing the same for other veterans, which perfectly reflected the kind of man he was. Those who knew Jim describe him as one of the kindest people they ever met. He truly never met a stranger and would strike up a conversation with anyone and everyone. He was curious about everything, loved learning how things worked, and could fix anything. If he didn’t know how to fix something, he would figure it out.

Jim was a Catholic and served his parish in many ways over the years at St. Catherine of Siena in Austin, including as an usher and, fittingly, as the parish handyman, always willing to lend his skills and fix whatever needed fixing. He also volunteered with the Oak Hill volunteer fire department, just another way that he served his community and helped whenever and wherever he could.

Jim loved country music, especially Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, and John Denver. One of his favorite songs was Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler,” a song his family will forever associate with him. He also loved going to car shows and air shows with his family and fishing with his children, grandchildren, and especially his best friend, Clyde. Jim’s greatest joy, though, was being with his family. He looked forward to every visit, dinner, holiday, and family gathering. At the end of each one, he would always ask when everyone was getting together next. Those gatherings were never long enough for him.

Jim will be remembered for his service to his country and his church, his love of car shows, air shows, and fishing, his easy conversations and kindness to strangers, and most of all, his love of family. He is deeply missed by everyone who knew and loved him.

He was preceded in death by his mother Doris, his sister Ellen, and his best friend, Clyde Simeroth. Jim is survived by his beloved wife of more than 52 years, Patsy Boyer; his three daughters, Jennifer Molinari, Rachael Smith, and Mary Holz; his “sons,” Olivier Molinari, Chris Smith, and Nate Holz; and his eight grandchildren, Huston, Rowan, Selena, Katrin, Avery, Miranda, Zoe, and Sebastian.

A Memorial Mass with military honors will be held on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at 10:00am at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church of Austin.