Ralph G. Boyce of Marblehead died peacefully at home on Thursday, August 27, 2026 after a battle with cancer. He was 69.
He was raised in Swampscott by the late Thomas J. Boyce Jr. and Eileen (McNamara) Boyce, graduated from Swampscott High School in 1974 and never stopped being proud of his Big Blue football years, including the 1972 Super Bowl win. He graduated from Salem State College. He retired in 2022 after 26 years at New England Biolabs in customer service and finance, following earlier work managing a Favor shoe store and at Cardinal Health and General Electric. He was married 30 years to Leslie (Kane) Boyce and cared for her through her own cancer until she died in 2022. In 2025 he married Ellen (Reagan) Boyce, and they had three full years together, with time at his house in Key West and with his granddaughters, Mari and Birdie. He followed the Patriots, Red Sox and Bruins.
He leaves his wife, Ellen; his children, Susan Boyce and Joseph Boyce; Ellen’s children, Reagan Gracias and her husband Ronny, and Danny Mills; his sisters, Maureen Gill and her husband Malcolm, and Margaret Shanahan and her husband Joseph; and many nieces and nephews. His brother, Thomas J. Boyce III, died before him.
Visiting hours are Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Solimine Funeral Home, 67 Ocean Street, Lynn, and Thursday at 10 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. funeral Mass on Thursday, September 3 at St. John the Evangelist Church, Swampscott. The family suggests donations to Dynamic Catholic.
Compiled from information published by Solimine Funeral Homes. Photograph courtesy of the family via Solimine Funeral Homes. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
