When our daughter was born in 1993, Steve and Petty were the first people who came to see us in Berea. Steve said that Aida would always be a Kentuckian no matter where she goes. A month later, as we were getting ready to embark on our journey to the west coast for graduate school, Steve took a picture as we came to the math department to say bye. He jokingly referred to the photo as " The baby with the men of the Draper building".

We were fortunate to get to see Steve and Patty more times as they came to Oregon to see Nathan's family. In their subsequent visits, Steve and Patty also saw our son who was born in Oregon. Over the years, with these visits, they have become a part of our family. We treasured these times spent with Steve and Patty and always looked forward to our next meeting.

Steve, you are in a better world than the one we are living in. 

Forever miss you!

Hamid and Sheeny

When my wife Nicki and I first came to Berea in 1989 some of the first people we met were Steve and Patty at the Fall Faculty Feast at the beginning of the semester at Berea College.  We immediately felt welcomed, and while Nicki began to work with Patty in Basic Math, I began my career teaching Biology for 33 years.  The program and its leadership that quickly caught my attention on campus was the Mathematics Department.  It became my beacon of how to properly run an academic department.  As many people have already posted, Steve's leadership style was something that I wish others could have experienced and copied.  He always paid careful attention to what one had to say and gave great thought to each question posed.  Faculty trust in Steve's abilities eventually led him to be appointed as Academic Dean and later Provost of Berea College.  These were some of the best administrative appointments I experienced while an active faculty member (though it took a truly outstanding teacher out of the classroom).

Now I attempted to enhance Steve's order of calling meetings with others by bestowing upon him a turquoise 1.5 ft. tall fertility statue  with a unique manner of gaining the attention of an unsuspecting audience.  Though I am not sure Steve professionally ever used this figure, he expressed some degree of enthusiasm upon receiving the gift (which I believe he then properly stored in the deep recess of a file cabinet never to be seen again).  I also received from Steve a hairline fracture of a rib when participating in a volleyball game at our annual Science Division picnic - Steve, as you know, was quite the athlete and a keen competitor, though I am sure his intrusion into by rib cage was accidental.  He was also complicit as a musician at our annual Polish Dinner when, despite the effort of Steve Bolster, we managed to provide a less than rousing rendition of several songs using chimes which were often hit at the wrong time. 

When we say farewell to  Steve, we also know that he lives on through our many memories, his children, grandchildren, and future generations.  Around 12 days before he passed we had lunch with Steve and Patty along with Steve and Sandy Bolster.  Even at that point there was still that spark in his eye and several really funny comments he made (particularly one about the dessert - Steve took exception to Patty's choice of fresh fruit over his choice of ice cream!).  I am so appreciative of this last interaction and the other numerous interactions we have had with Steve and Patty over the years.

The first time I was going to meet Steve and Patty in person, I was so nervous. I'd never dated someone as close to their parents as Nathan. We were first year graduate students and had just been dating a few months, but I knew he was "the one" so... would that all end if they didn't like me?  

I remember shopping for just the right outfit, a white linen skirt and sunflower shirt that was just the right '90's level of nice but not formal. Friends Pam and Cheryl could actually cook, something I had little experience in. They came over and spent hours with me cleaning my little house, setting a nice table, pounding, dipping, breading and rolling chicken, to make a chicken parmesan which Nathan said they'd like. Well. All this preparation led to heart-warming memories, but none of it was necessary....

At Steve's memorial last week, family and colleagues laughed about his slow and deliberate decision-making process.  That was the way he approached much of life, but not all. The minute Steve and Patty had walked in my door for that dinner, they made me feel that they had decided to love me, and to do so unconditionally.  Because they saw that's how I love their son. 

What a gift.

Steve loved to laugh and loved to tease.  He was brilliant and principled. He loved deep, slow, thoughtful conversation and big hugs. But maybe what has made the biggest impact on me was the way Steve encouraged. It's such a small example, but I remember leaping on Nathan's back in a grocery store parking lot while being silly, and Steve saying "Wow! I bet a coach would have loved to work with your athletic ability". I don't think anyone had said anything like that to me! It defied my self-concept and changed it. And it meant a lot. And over the years when my impatient energy level interacted with the Boyce pace of things, instead of calling me bossy or being irritated, Steve and Patty would say, "thank goodness Heidi is here to get us moving". 

Steve would later bring that unconditional, consistent, patient, encouraging love to our three children. When I told him of my family grandparent naming tradition, he embraced being called "PapaSteve". Even has hearing loss and gradual illness slowly pulled PapaSteve away from us, he was attending as many school plays, sporting events, and performances as travel schedules allowed, whether these events happened on a stage, field, in our backyard or living room.  When travel wasn't allowed, he would listen for hours to the stories. His unconditional love and encouragement were so strongly felt just through his presence. 

I miss my PapaSteve. I'm endlessly grateful for our nearly 30 years of time together, and for the new family that's formed over these decades.  We are so blessed. 

     As one of his first students in the early 70’s, I have several fond memories of Steve Boyce. Although I was not one of his brightest students, I surely had to be one of his hardest working. I can remember waiting many afternoons in a long line of students in the Draper building just to get help on homework and/or one of his carefully selected bonus problems. Some of us would work on the problems as we waited, therein having solved a few before arriving in front of the source of knowledge. Perhaps this gathering was the forerunner of a math tutoring lab. But we waited patiently because we knew that Dr. Boyce would answer our questions no matter how long it took, and/or maybe even give us a hint on the current bonus problem. And he would show no sign of impatience or disappointment in our inability to work a problem without a little help. Steve was able to convey much of the beauty in some of the most challenging mathematical proofs or exercises, which made the mastery of such proofs all the more exciting and gratifying. One afternoon we regular tutees noticed a newcomer to the lines. One of the students asked her for which course she had come for assistance. She politely replied that she had just brought Steve his lunch and was waiting in line to give it to him. This is how many of us first met Steve’s wife, Patty.

     I always left his help sessions inspired to work harder and show him that his time spent helping me was not wasted. It is this inspiration which I now seek to spark in my own students, whether in developmental math, algebra, calculus, or statistics. But Steve, by giving tutorial help to all of his students, was the source of my belief that all students can master basic mathematical concepts. And I have practiced this philosophy in my mathematics teaching for 48 years.

     I will close with a humorous anecdote from one of his spring Real Analysis II classes. The lectures had become quite deep and involved in mathematical rigor and those warm spring afternoons were so conducive to sleep. Being the excellent teacher he was, Steve was always receptive to student suggestions for improving his teaching skills. And realizing that the class had begun to drag somewhat, he asked us for ideas to pep up the class. The next class meeting he read one of our suggestions to the class—that he work jokes into his lectures to spice up the long periods of note-taking. We all agreed that this would be a good plan. So, Steve responded and began incorporating “spontaneous jokes” into his lectures the very next class meeting. And with each joke, we all perked up, paid very close attention and laughed at the punch lines, as Steve did indeed tell some pretty funny stories. But after the laughs, students would again drift back into a quasi-sleep mode until the next joke. This is just one example of how serious Steve took his teaching profession and how important his students were to him. I have never known another teacher to make such a concerted effort to keep his students both entertained and informed in the mathematics classroom.

     It is with sincere gratitude that I write and share this letter of appreciation for my mentor, Dr. Steve Boyce.

Campus Ministry fielded a summer softball team and several faculty and staff joined the team.  I tried to recruit Steve, knowing his athleticism.  He graciously declined, saying that his son Nathan would be home with them for the summer and he wanted to spend as much time as possible with him.   Devoted family man!

Steve was a great teacher but, more importantly, a great human.  My most vivid memory was in his office in Draper -- I was having a bad moment (I don't remember the specifics about the situation), and we were having an advising session, and I started to cry.  He got up, shut the door, and just let me cry.  No words were needed.  I will forever remember that compassion; I was fortunate to be able to return to Berea as a full-time employee and work under his leadership.  

I am sending Patty and his family my sincere condolences,

Two who always operated as one. Our condolences.  Barbara M. and Charles E. Thompson