Diana Doll Logan Boyd died March 15, 2024, at the age of 86 at her home in Towson, Maryland. Diana was born Sept. 13, 1938, in Mt. Vernon, New York, to Howard and Doris (née Hoffman) Logan.
Diana was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Peter S. Logan. She is survived by her beloved husband of 59 years, Gary Delane Boyd; her son Eric Logan Boyd and his wife Letitia Boyd; her daughter Cynthia Melinda Boyd and her husband Gregory Lucas; and five beloved grandchildren, Heather Boyd, Alexander Boyd, Graham Lucas, Liam Lucas and Jane Lucas. Her love for all of her family was the joy of her life.
Diana graduated from the Spence School in New York City in 1956 and matriculated to Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, graduating in 1960. A math major, she was intrigued by the new opportunities offered in computers, introduced to her by dear friends from Wheaton. Her career as a computer programmer in research at Bell Telephone Laboratories went from punched cards to PCs. She was a pioneer who contributed to both the Multics and Unix operating systems, work that now forms the basis of the modern Internet.
She met her husband Gary at Bell Labs and they married in 1964. A resident of Rumson for 50 years, Diana made many lifelong friends there. She loved to read, watch the birds on the Navesink River, and watch her children and their friends ski, sail and laugh. Diana and Gary moved to Towson, Maryland, in November 2018 to be closer to daughter Cynthia and family.
Diana was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Rumson until her death. She will be remembered for her strong faith and dedication to the church. As a member of the Historic Committee, she enjoyed helping the church, built in 1886 by the famous architect Thomas Hastings, obtain National Landmark status.
Diana enjoyed genealogy, finding relatives that included a sea captain running a life-saving station called Crisp Point on Lake Superior. She also loved to travel, including fondly remembered trips to Scotland, Michigan, Maryland, Ireland, Alaska, California and anywhere to visit the “three Bs” – friends she adored from Wheaton. She especially enjoyed visiting Scotland, the land of her ancestors, and felt very fortunate to attend two women’s retreats on the sacred Isle of Iona.
More than anything, Diana cherished her children and grandchildren. She loved and was devoted to them, never forgetting a birthday or special occasion. She adored spending time outside looking at the Navesink River with her grandchildren and reading and doing puzzles and games with them. She spent countless hours looking at creatures they found swimming in the Navesink River and watching them play with the blocks, cars, LEGOs and a dollhouse that she saved for them. Diana always went to see her beloved oldest grandchild Heather performing ballet in Michigan and loved seeing her grandson Alex playing soccer and the viola. She adored exploring the Navesink, Sandy Hook and the Highlands with Graham. She cherished visits to see Liam playing the saxophone in Maryland, playing the videos of his performances on repeat, and watching him in the water and on playgrounds. Diana experienced great joy reading with Jane and sharing the dollhouse furniture and toys she had saved from her childhood with her.
A church service celebrating Diana’s life will be held at 9:15 a.m. May 21 at the First Presbyterian Church of Rumson in the sanctuary. The family will welcome friends immediately following the service in Wilson’s Hall. Inurnment will be private at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.
The family would like to extend its gratitude to the caring teams at Johns Hopkins Medicine, Tender Care Nursing Agency, Blakehurst, and Stella Maris Hospice who helped care for Diana.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Diana’s name to the First Presbyterian Church of Rumson, P.O. Box 399, Rumson, NJ 07760.
The article originally appeared in the April 25 – May 1, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
