John Boyd died Jan. 17, 2026, at 89.
When we picture him now, he is in the basement, bent over a workbench, making something useful: a teak board for nautical charts, a radio opened with its parts spread before him, or a contraption to keep squirrels from his bird feeder. John liked to understand how things worked and then make them better.
He slept with the window open every night. It was his way of staying connected to the world beyond the walls, to birdsong in the morning and the rustle of trees, to the slip of starlight across the ceiling.
Nature was John’s constant companion. A former ski patrol, he stayed athletic into later life, skiing, golfing, walking wooded paths, watching birds and sailing at night beneath wide skies.
John did not seek attention. His friends were few, but those he chose were outsized in personality. He was the watchful presence beside larger characters, the whip-smart companion who listened closely and spoke with intention.
He never announced his values, but he lived them: self-sufficiency, curiosity and paying close attention, especially to those he loved.
His curiosity had no edges. If you mentioned a place you’d traveled, you might arrive at his home to find books already opened and dog-eared, or its image on a screen.
He was devoted to birds and birding, especially the astonishing variety that passed through Cape May. From there, his attention lifted outward to astronomy and space exploration — trips to the Hayden Planetarium and the Air and Space Museum, and nights on the boat beneath a sky crowded with stars.
John was a lawyer and loved the precision of the law. He believed in clarity: right and wrong, argument and proof. His writing reflected that belief: spare and exact, often laced with humor. Maritime law became his specialty, a natural extension of both his profession and his life in Cape May.
John Boyd was born Aug. 23, 1936. He served in the United States Air Force, graduated from Williams College and Georgetown University Law Center, and practiced law for many years.
He is survived by his wife, Linda Boyd; his children Stacey, Amy and JB; his grandchildren Grace, Rowan and Violet; and his stepchildren Cody and Kristin Anderson, and their six children.
