This profile written from a collaboration of family recollections.
The chronology may be slightly out of order , but with familydirection, we hope
that this will be corrected.
This profile written from a collaboration of family recollections.
The chronology may be slightly out of order , but with familydirection, we hope
that this will be corrected.
John Nathan Boyce
John Nathan Boyce was born April 11, 1923 at Friday Harbor Washington. He was born the only son of John Leroy Boyce and Evelyn Rose Rudolph. John Nathan was given quite a few nick names through his life, It is believed these nicknames came about as there were quite a few "John Boyce's" living on the island at the same time, and it must have been an easy way to call out for a child without two or three adults turning around. in response. Some of the earlier nicknames included "Buddy" or sometimes "Rose Bud". He was also given the nickname "Tiny" later in life, as he grew to be quite a large man in stature.
Pictured at left is John Henry Boyce and John Nathan "Buddy" Boyce.
Photo courtesy of Katherine Mildred Beryl WADE.Pictured at right as children: June Bernice, John Nathan, and Georgina Beryl Boyce.
Photo "courtesy of Katherine (Kitty) Mildred Beryl Wade-Roberts."By the age of sixteen, Buddy found himself in trouble with the law. Ap
parently he had stolen a car or two, but no details are available about this. Buddy continued with this fascination for the automobile as you will find throughout his profile. One of Buddy's early jobs was working for a street or road crew in Seattle, possibly with one or two of his Uncle's, when he suffered an accident, falling into a large hole that had been dug into the street. Buddy was severely injured, breaking several bones and suffering multiple lacerations. What did Buddy do? He somehow managed to get himself up and out of the hole with no help, got himself to a car, and proceeded to drive to the local hospital. Apparently Buddy was in pretty bad shape and the doctors couldn't believe that he had managed to get himself to the hospital on his own. We would love to be able to find that record to verify the extent of his injuries.
Buddy joined the Army Corps of Engineers and ended up in Alaska for a short time. This may be where he got his experience operating heavy equipment, but he had to leave the corps as he somehow managed to injure one of his eyes. Later he also worked for a short time in Seattle Washington as a Police Officer.
Pictured above: June Bernice, Georgina Beryl, John Nathan, and Clayton Francis Boyce.
Photo courtesy of Clayton Francis Boyce.
Pictured at left in their teens: June Bernice, John Nathan, and Georgina Beryl Boyce.
Photo courtesy of Lennie Lynn Boyce-Hulo.Buddy met his first wife, Beatty Sprague in Seattle at a local bowling alley when they were both 19. Early in their marriage, Buddy and Beatty would occasionally take a trip to the San Juan Islands, and while there they would go rabbit hunting, and visit with family. Beatty recalls: "Buddy's mom Evelyn didn't hug the kids much. She rarely visited and on one occasion, brought Buddy a cupcake for his birthday, that's it." Buddy and Betty went on the road as Buddy had become a "stunt driver" and was driving in thrill shows. Buddy and Betty had gone to one particular show in Missoula Montana, taking along Betty's young daughter from a previous marriage, and their first born infant son, Leroy Lamont. While driving in the show, Buddy's stunt went awry and he broke his collar bone. They left for home and Betty doesn't recall them ever going to another thrill show together again. Buddy was asked to leave the marriage with Betty as there ended up being unreconcilable differences. Beatty worked in the shipyards at Seattle, raising her children for many years by herself until she met a wonderful man, Mr.Durant? and remarried. Buddy ended up in Medford Oregon where his mother Evelyn Rose Rudolph was living with her second husband, Phillip Worden. Buddy had his eye on a convertible but had no money so he turned to Evelyn and she gave him a family diamond ring. He hocked the ring and apparently purchased the convertible.
The following was a coorispondence received from the webmaster at stuntdriver.com, as I sent an inquiry in 1999 to confirm Buddy's stunt car driving during this time.
"We supect Buddy played in the movie "To Please A Lady" with Clark Gable, which can be purchased from online from one of the top book stores. An MGM movie. Will sent you an mail to where to buy it. later.Curry, Fleenor, Snooks and Foster was in the movie also. Hickman was on the MGM staff. From the picture of your dad, the car was painted with Death Drivers to enter into a cash derby, sponsored by Chitwood. About 30 cars were painted with names, instead of numbers for these events in 1959, 60 and 61. To promote larger crowds. We also supect Buddy was paid under the name of Bill Hickman, who made a number of movies. or was a close friend of Hickman, so he could get paid. Buddy must have had close friends with-in the movie industry to get these stunt scene's . Rather than work with the major auto thrill shows like Kochman, Swensen and ect. He did movie parts with Chitwood in CA, and Indianpolis 500 speedway, in Indiana. Also movie companies did not give movie credits to the real names. Some paid cash without a SS# number or name."
Pictured at right: Buddy standing next to one of his stunt cars at around 20 years of age.
Photo courtesy of Georgina Beryl Boyce-Farfan.Buddy met his second wife, Dorothy Jean Pendergast-Darland in Medford as Dorothy was then working at a drive-in theater. Dorothy recalls, "He just wouldn't leave me alone." and eventually Dorothy left her troubled marriage to John Leroy Darland and with her three small boys in tow, eventually ended up marrying Buddy in Reno Nevada.
Pictured below from front to back: Buddy, James Phillip Boyce, Billy Lee Darland, Larry John Darland, and Patrick Glen Darland.
Photo courtesy of Dorothy Jean Pendergast-Boyce.
Buddy and Dorothy moved to Baker Oregon where he ended up working as a heavy equipment operator for the city. There Buddy and Dorothy had three children, James Phillip, Thomas Lee, and Michael Richard. According to the time line, Buddy was again doing stunt driving and found his way to the Chitwood Driving Team where he managed to get some movie stunt driving jobs. It is said that as mentioned above, he did stunt driving in the 1959 Clark Gable movie, To Please a Lady, a feature where the lead character, Clark Gable, was a race car and stunt car driver. Buddy also did some stunt driving in the movies, Thunder Road, and appeared in one of the Hope and Crosby "Road" Pictures, where in one scene, he drove a large out of control truck, recklessly down a hill. While in Baker Oregon, Buddy was working in a rock quarry and fell into a rock crusher resulting in serious injuries to his right arm and leg. But Buddy never let his injuries past or present drag him down. Dorothy Jean recalls "when he got home from the hospital, he removed the casts and laughed about the whole thing!"
In 1961 and with six young boys in tow, Buddy and Dorothy moved to Portland, Oregon and rented a large 5 story house on Vancouver Avenue in North Portland for $100 a month. There, they had a daughter, Kathleen Ann. One of the Darland Boys, Billy Lee recalls Buddy using an acetylene torch on the springs of an older model car that he was preparing for a race at Jantzen Beach Raceway. Apparently he would weaken the springs on one side of the car so that it would perform better in the curves on the circle track. Another time, Buddy showed up at the house with a Harley Davidson Electrogli
de motorcycle painted in tiger stripes and mounted with what he claimed was over 100 working lights. It looked like a Christmas tree when it was all lit up at night. When he had brought it home, he set it on it's side in the front yard and challenged any of his children to pick the bike up. He said, "If one of you can pick it up, its yours." Of course non of the children could as it was extremely heavy. Another of Buddy's kids from his first marraige, Bradley John, was having difficulties at home and was sent to go "live with his father." This now ment that Buddy was supporting a wife, a housekeeper/nanny, 3 Darland boys, 4 Boyce boys and a daughter. For the next several years, Buddy would be away from home off and on, seeking a way to support his family.
Pictured at right as it looks today, the large 5 story house Buddy and Dorothy rented in Portland Oregon.
Buddy, or "Tiny" as he was then nicknamed, got a job at that time with the Alaska Barge and Transport Company, headquartered in Seattle Washington. Sometime between 1965 and 1966, when Buddy was employed, the AB&T was subcontracted to move military freight for the US Army during the Vietnam war. It is not confirmed, but it is believed that Tiny, with his experience operating heavy equipment, and particularly cranes, was assisting with the loading and offloading of the supply ships.
Art Remembers Buddy
Click here for a few stories about Buddy from a long time friend, Art Hull of Portland, OR.
The following is a description of the Alaska Barge and Transport Company's role in Vietnam:To help alleviate the shortage of lighterage and coastal shipping capability, Commander U. S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, recommended that a contract be negotiated with Alaska Barge and Transport Company. The concept of utilizing civilian contractors was approved by the Secretary of Defense in November 1965 and he directed the Military Sea Transportation Service to negotiate the contract. By 8 December the contract was signed and operations began in early 1966. This intra-coastal augmentation included a barge-tug fleet among which were two stripped down LST hulls for use as barges. Because only one major port, Cam Ranh Bay, had a deep draft pier for the discharge of ammunition, a large number of the available barges were used to support the ammunition discharge program. The ammunition discharge in the Saigon-Cat Lai (Nha Be) complex, for example, was in effect a combination stream discharge and inland waterway distribution system and placed a heavy requirement on the available barge assets. In each major port complex, contractor-furnished lighterage augmented the limited military capability that was available.
Michael Richard recalls, "I remember our dad came home for Christmas that year, (1967), and was presenting all the children with various gifts that he had brought from Vietnam. Their were several black silk jackets for the older boys, a photo album, an ivory Elephant tusk which had an entire city, people included, intricately carved into it, a black velvet "locket" key chain, which featured the Ten Commandments on one side and a cigarette ad on the other, and what he had brought me was a Dragon Ship that had been carved out of a Water Buffalo horn." We were all so excited to see our dad, as it seemed like he had been gone for such a long time."
Apparently while over their, Buddy hooked up with American businessman, Mel Falla. One Buddy's stories was that Mel Falla gifted the President of the United States, Roosevelt, with a Scottish Terrier, which was named Fala. I managed to find on the internet that President Roosevelt's dog Falla was gifted to him by his cousin, Miss Margaret Lynch Suckley. Was this cousin a Falla? Quite possibly. Mel and Buddy worked together for the AB&T, and were overseeing the construction of a company building which upon completion, was destroyed during a bombing by the North Vietnamese Army. Beatty Sprague, Buddy's first wife recalled a story told to her by their oldest son, Leroy Lamont, who was stationed as a motorcycle Currier of messages for the US Army in Vietnam at the same time Buddy was over there. "Leroy had gotten into an accident on his motorcycle, injuring his back and knee. Leroy had also been attacked by the Vietnamese while there and was severely beaten with clubs. Buddy had located and approached Leroy, asking him if he would smuggle jewels back to the United States. Leroy refused, and they went their separate ways."
Jewel smuggling? What was Tiny really up to while over in Vietnam? All that we know is that he ended up sending home quite a bit of money, diamonds and precious gems in the form of jewelry. When Tiny had returned from Vietnam for the last time, he was wearing expensive silk shirts, and boasting stories that were so outrageous, it was hard to believe anything we were told. One particular story was that while over their, he was the house guest of then premiere of Saigon, Madam Nu As we heard the story, this was the source of the jewelry that Tiny shipped back home. There is a photograph of Tiny taken in 1968 at Seaside Oregon while we were on a family vacation. He has this far away look in his eyes, staring out over the ocean, reflecting no doubt on his previous overseas adventures in the South China Sea.
Tiny had sent enough money home as to afford to buy a house and a towing business. Tiny had grown quite large and as the story went, he had won a bet that he could get his weight up to 300 pounds. The name of the business was Duncan Towing and featured wreckers painted white with red "candy cane" stripes. Tiny was credited with having built the first wrecker in Portland capable of towing a large Semi Truck. His first attempt failed as the boom for the lift was too weak and it bent when a lift was attempted. He redesigned the boom and the second attempt was successful. While running Duncan Towing, Tiny fell ill to bouts of Malaria, no doubt contracted in S.E Asia. He was being treated with Quinine and was so ill, he had to ask his sister, Georgina Beryl Boyce-Farfan to help out with running the business so that he could recover.
During this time, Tiny had something he was cooking up. According to Larry Darland, Dorothy Jean's second oldest son from her first marriage, Tiny was trying to sell a story to Time Magazine for ten thousand dollars, which profiled the corruption that he had witnessed while over in Vietnam. Time Magazine refused the purchase the story so Tiny decided to go another route. Dorothy Jean recalls that Tiny had some Lieutenant Colonel of the Navy over one day, who was taking some kind of statement from him. Apparently Tiny was ready to testify to a Senate Hearing Committee on the corruption and the US involvement of this corruption during the Vietnam war. Dorothy Jean smelled trouble brewing and decided to take herself and her four children, and leave Tiny for good. Dorothy's son Larry had just gotten out of Vietnam from the Navy and helped Dorothy with the move. Dorothy had packed only what she could fit in Larry's old 50's Lincoln, and away they went, moving to Medford, Oregon.
Shortly following Dorothy's departure, Tiny was interviewed and submitted a news story to the Portland based Oregonian Newspaper. To read this story "Click Here."
Trouble had followed Tiny's testimony as Dorothy had anticipated. Apparently while driving down the highway in SW Washington State, a speeding black car came up from behind, and then along side of Tiny's car and began shooting at him. Tiny's previous experience as a stunt driver afforded him to take evasive actions and he swerved his car off of the highway and rolled it several times, completely totaling the automobile. The attackers sped away and Tiny was not injured in the crash.
Tiny had become concerned with follow up attacks at home and began keeping vicious guard dogs around his house in NE Portland. Tiny met a waitress named Jeannie at a cafe that he frequented that was located just next door to Duncan Towing. Jeannie's father owned the Butcher shop across the highway from the RimRock cafe where they had met. Tiny married Jeannie but there was just one problem with this however, Tiny never got a divorce from Dorothy Before Marrying. Little is known about Tiny's life the few years after Dorothy Jean left with her children. During this time he had gifted his son James Phillip with an old rusted Chevy Impala convertible. I believe that was James first car.
Shortly before Tiny's death, Jeannie had contacted Dorothy Jean and told her that he was dying and that she had better get her kids up there fast. Tiny had developed late stage Diabetes and his health was rapidly deteriorating. Many of his children traveled to Portland to see him for the last time. Michael Richard was the last of his children to see him alive. Michael recalls: "I was in Oysterville Washington at the time, working on a farm for the summer that was owned and operated by Sherry Burnett-Goulter and her husband Bud. Sherry was hired as our Housekeeper and Nanny some years earlier while Tiny was in Vietnam, and Sherry had became a very close family friend and literally my second mother. Jeannie was extremely overprotective of him when I came to see him. He was confined to bed rest and she quickly ushered myself and her son Ronny, out of the house and drove us to a Bruce Lee movie. Upon our return I got to spend about 10 minutes with my dad. He sat up in his bed, his face at the age of 53 was worn and his eyes were tired. He then told me that he had always loved all of his children and that he wished things had turned out better than they did. He told me that he loved me and that he was proud of me and gave me a hug and a kiss goodbye."
Just days later, John Nathan Boyce had died. He died of congestive heart failure at his home in Portland Oregon, July 23rd, 1976, at the young age of 53.
John Nathan's youngest son Michael Richard, would like to personally sum up his fathers life with the following statement:
"My fathers life was reckless at best. His sometimes selfish actions had negatively effected the lives of all who were related to him, those who knew him, and those who knew of him. Perhaps shame or guilt kept Buddy from telling his family stories about growing up on San Juan Island, and all of the wonderful history that he could have shared about his family. Many still have embittered hearts towards this man, but I would like to recognize him as the man who gave me my "life." With my life, I have been blessed with love and happiness not only through a wonderful marriage to my best friend Sandy, but also with my incredible son Tyler James, and gifted daughter, Alicia Christine. From this brief experience with my father, I have learned that I can be the dad I never had, the husband that he never was, and be quite proud to share with my children, the history of our family and the integrity of being a Boyce."
