LeRoy Boyd Letcher, Jr.

LeRoy Boyd Letcher, Jr., age 89, of Gulfport, Mississippi, passed away on November 20, 2023. 

Boyd was born to LeRoy Boyd Letcher, Sr.  and Shirley Cowan Letcher on January 6, 1934, in Gulfport. He graduated from Gulfport High School in 1951 where he played tennis, winning many doubles tournaments.  After high school he attended United States Naval Academy 1953-1954, playing on the tennis team there as well.  He then attended the University of Mississippi, graduating in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.  While attending Ole Miss, Boyd was a member of Kappa Alpha Fraternity, the National Honor Society of Scabbard and Blade, the Arnold Air Society, and was the Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Company Commander of the 36^th Squadron Air Force ROTC. 

After graduating from Ole Miss, he entered the United States Air Force, becoming a flight officer.  While in the Air Force, he flew Strategic Air Command under Curtis LeMay, Air-Sea Rescue in Greenland, and hurricane hunters in Bermuda.  He later joined the Mississippi National Guard in Jackson, MS, from 1963 until 1970, reaching the rank of Captain.

Boyd was an active member of the community.  He was the owner of the L.B. Letcher Insurance Agency and served as the Insurance Commissioner for Harrison County.  He was a member of the Hancock Bank Board of Directors, the Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission (appointed by Governor Fordice), and the Board of Trustees of Memorial Hospital.  He was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church. 

 Boyd was a founder of both the Bayou Bluff Tennis Club and the Gulfport Racquet Club as well as a member of Les Cavaliers, of which he served as King.  He was also a member of the Broadwater Country Club and the Gulfport Yacht Club

Boyd continued to compete in tennis throughout his life.  He also enjoyed golf, and at his prime was a scratch golfer.  He loved his time spent in Cashiers, North Carolina, where he was a member of Trillium Links and Lake Club and Cedar Creek Racquet Club.

Boyd was preceded in death by his parents. 

He is survived by his wife, Gay Graves; daughter, Shirley Letcher-Lichte (William); grandchildren Kasey Letcher and Marina Lichte; stepchildren, Rick Graves (Marie-Claire), Jamie Graves (Stacey), Amy Graves Underhill (Eli), and Sammy Goff (Denise); and his step-grandchildren, Rachel, Lindsay, and Zachary Graves, and Charlotte and Caroline Underhill.

The funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, November 27, 2023 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Gulfport. Friends may visit one-hour prior to service. Interment will follow at Floral Hills Memorial Gardens. Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home, 15^th Street is honored to serve the Letcher family.

The family prefers memorials to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 5005 Lawson Avenue, Gulfport, MS 39507.