Curtis Dean Boyd

Curtis D. Boyd, age 84, Bradley, died in the Clark Care and Rehabilitation Center on Sunday night, February 4, 2018 after a long illness.

A Celebration of Life /Time of Remembrance will be held Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 6 p.m. at the Furness Funeral Home Chapel in Clark, SD.

Curtis Dean Boyd was born October 20, 1933 in Watertown, SD, the only child of parents Ray and Alma (Forbragd) Boyd. He grew up on the family farm northwest of Bradley and attended elementary school at Cottonwood #58. He later attended Bradley High School.

Curtis joined the Army in mid-1952 and trained with the 11th Airborne in Kentucky before going to Japan and then on to Korea. It was there in the infamous battle on Pork Chop Hill that he lost his eye when he was hit by shrapnel from an explosion. Boyd, a corporal was honorably discharged in 1953 and he was awarded a Purple Heart. He then returned to farm with his parents and help area farmers. For a time, he went out on his own working construction and building gravel roads in Pierre, but eventually came back to help his parents on the farm. At one time, they had about 750 laying hens, some cattle, sheep and pigs and raised grain and hay. His mother died in 1968 and his father died in 1971.

In 2001, Curtis suffered a stroke which forced his retirement and his eventual move into Bradley. He was a member of the St. John's Lutheran Church of Bradley. Curtis enjoyed hunting and fishing and was an avid card player. A highlight of Curtis's life was a trip to Crystal, Minnesota in 2013 with Eric, Jerry, Jim and Jessie Caulfield where he received a special award presented by the POW/MIA Club and was reunited with a couple of buddies who had also lost an eye from the war in South Korea-the three guys with the three eyes.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by special friends Pam Hartman, Don Knudsen, Jarrod Rahm and many friends in the Bradley area and some cousins.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by the Furness Funeral Home at Clark where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com