Thomas Boykin Jr

Thomas Boykin Jr. Husband. Father. Activist. Thomas Boykin Jr.'s story begins on January 31, 1941. He was born to Beatrice (Iverson) and Thomas Boykin Sr. in Columbus, Ohio. He grew up in Columbus loved and surrounded by his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. He lost his father at the age of 13 and begged his mother to drop out of school to help out with finances. Beatrice Boykin refused his plea and continued to stress the importance of completing high school and college. Beatrice instilled a value in education that Thomas never forgot. Upon graduating from East High School, Thomas joined the U.S Army and served for 5 years. After serving his country Thomas was urged to return to Columbus by his mother but he had another destination in mind, New York City. The second act of Thomas Boykin's story finds him galavanting in New York. He raised his fist at political marches, grooved at concerts at the Apollo Theater and questioned ALL authority. While employed at the U.S Postal office in Manhattan he met a lovely lady named Patricia Ann Harvey. Thomas was unable to resist Ms. Ann and they soon became husband and wife. Thomas was proud of his wife and supported her dream of nursing. They eventually brought home Thomas's babygirl Keisha Ayo Boykin and settled in Queens, New York. Thomas loved his family and made them his priority. He went on to earn his Bachelors degree in Criminology from John Jay College of Criminal Law and Justice. He retired from the New York Police Department with 15 years of service. After living in New York over 20 years, Thomas found himself missing his mother Beatrice Boykin and Columbus's quieter pace. The third act finds Thomas Boykin back in Columbus with his wife Patricia and daughter Keisha. Thomas now lived closer to his mother and was pleased to attend his home church Mt. Vernon A.M.E. Thomas continued his career in criminology rising up the ranks for 25 years with the State of Ohio Department of Corrections eventually becoming Deputy Warden. As his mother stressed to him the importance of education he stressed that to his own daughter. When Keisha brought home his grandson Jaylen Boykin Jones he would not allow his daughter to use being a single parent as an excuse to not succeed. Thomas proudly attended his daughter's college graduation holding his wife and grandsons hand and yelling louder than any other attendee. Thomas wore the hat of Grampy and Uncle Tom too, taking his grandson/nephews to marches, feeding the homeless or teaching his nephews how to be men. Uncle Tom was never short on wisdom, jokes or snacks! When you survey the life of Thomas Boykin you come to one conclusion, he was a family man. Thomas Boykin's story does not end here today. His physical presence left this earth on July 4th, 2014 but his family knows they will see him again. Thomas Boykin is survived by his (wife) Patricia Ann Boykin (sistersinlaw) Yvonne Harvey and Cheryl Harvey, (daughter) Keisha Ayo Boykin, (mother) Beatrice Boykin, (grandson) Jaylen Boykin Jones. He is preceded in death by his father Thomas Boykin Sr. and his son Darryl Christopher Boykin. A host of family, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and loved ones will miss Thomas Boykin immensely.