William Wilson Boyer, Jr.

William Wilson Boyer, Jr. died August 31, 2025 after struggling with the effects of metastatic squamous cell cancer. His partners in life, Taylor Bowlden and Don Bessette, were there to keep him comfortable, safe, and loved to the end.

Bill was born to William Wilson, Sr. and Nancy (Springer) Boyer on November 2, 1953 and joined his older sister, Louise (Scottie), at the family farm on Bush River near the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. After his mother died when Bill was a toddler, he was raised by his father's second wife, Catherine Stansbury Boyer, whom he loved and admired not only for her nurturing, motherly care but for the many practical skills that she taught him.

Bill attended St. James preparatory school in Hagerstown, Maryland; Wesley College in Dover, Delaware; and the University of Maryland College Park where he earned his B.S. degree in Agriculture in 1979.

Including part-time work during college, Bill spent a rewarding, happy 36-year career working as a conservationist for the Soil Conservation Service, later renamed Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There, he spent many years in agency field o?ces in Pennsylvania and Maryland helping farmers and other land owners install and implement erosion control techniques designed to conserve the soil, water, and other natural resources of their land. For the last decade of his career, Bill served in various positions in the NRCS national office in Washington, DC. He retired in January 2014.

Apart from his work, Bill was happy with and proud of his home life as an openly gay man living with his partners Taylor and Don since 1985 and 1997, respectively. Over the years, the three became welcomed members of each other's original family and friends and travelled with and hosted their respective parents, siblings, and friends on many occasions and in many places. Bill delighted in the loving bonds and stability of his chosen family.

In 2013, Bill was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, and in 2014, he became the lucky recipient of a life-saving lung transplant performed at the INOVA Heart & Lung Transplant Center in Fairfax, Virginia. In succeeding years, he lived as fully and happily as possible while also avoiding unacceptable risks to the gift of his donated lung. Partly as a result of exceeding the life expectancy averages for lung transplant patients by several years, Bill developed metastatic squamous cell cancer in 2024 that his suppressed immune system couldn't prevent and current medical care couldn't stop.

In addition to his life partners, Bill is survived by his sister, Scottie (Steve) Lay, and his half-sister, Jan (Oliver) Hofmann, whom he met several years ago for the first time and with whom he has developed a good and loving relationship. He is also survived by five Hofmann nieces and nephews and by many cousins and step-cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and all of his aunts and uncles.

A memorial service will be held at the Severn Inn, 1993 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd., Annapolis, MD, starting at 12:00PM on Thursday, September 11, 2025 to be followed by a luncheon at 1:00PM. Bill's family and friends are welcome to attend.

If you wish to honor Bill's memory, please consider designating yourself an organ donor on your driver's license. If you wish to make a contribution in Bill's memory, please consider the INOVA Health Foundation (https://foundation.inova.org), the Soil & Water Conservation Society (www.swcs.org), or a charity of your choice.