Raymond P. Boylston, Jr., of Raleigh, NC, passed away November 8, 2012
Funeral services for Ray Boylston, Jr., 82, will be at 2:00 pm on Saturday, November 10, 2012 at St. James Methodist Church, 3808 St. James Church Rd. Raleigh, NC 27604, followed by a graveside service at Historic Oakwood Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Friday evening, November 9, 2012 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 1701 E. Millbrook Road, Raleigh, NC 27609.
Pallbearers will be his grandsons Brooks Boylston, Christopher Hinson, Zachary Boylston, Adam Hinson, Mitchell Boylston and Samuel Boylston.
Ray Boylston graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.A. double major in chemistry and biology in 1951. During the Korean War, he served in the Army Chemical Corps at Fort Detrick, MD.
Ray married Bobbie Weeks of North Augusta, SC in 1952 and was employed by the DuPont Company as a Health Physicist at the Savannah River Project near Aiken, SC for approximately 10 years. Ray and Bobbie lived in North Augusta, SC from 1953 until 1964 during which time their three children were born.
Ray Boylston transferred to DuPont's corporate offices in Wilmington, DE in 1964 where he served as a Corporate Safety and Fire Protection Engineer. Then in 1965, he was transferred to Kinston, NC where he became the Safety Supervisor for the DuPont Dacron Polyester Plant. While employed in Kinston he was active in many State and local safety organizations.
In 1973, Ray was requested to become the first State Director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a position he held for four years. After leaving OSHA in 1977, Ray became the Safety Manager for the American Textile Manufacturers' Institute in Charlotte, NC.
Ray Boylston and three other principals formed ELB and Associates, Inc. in 1978, a comprehensive occupational safety and health consulting firm. He served as vice president, senior vice president and president of the firm over an 18 year period. He retired from the firm in 1994.
He was an outstanding safety professional at the local, state and national level serving as national president of the American Society of Safety Engineers. His numerous awards include: Fellow in the American Society of Safety Engineers and the Distinguished Service to Safety Award for the National Safety Council.
Ray Boylston was a distinguished author of business and non-fiction books. Some of his many books include MANAGING SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAMS, THE BOYLSTON FAMILY HISTORY, BUTLER'S BRIGADE, THE BATTLE OF AIKEN, EDISTO REBELS AT CHARLESTON, AND HEALING SPRINGS.
His greatest legacy was his total commitment to his family and his consistent love, support, wisdom, and generosity. Surviving are his wife of sixty years, Bobbie Weeks Boylston, daughter and son-in-law, Jennie Boylston Hinson and Gerald Hinson; son and daughter-in-law Brooks M. Boylston and Dianne Kennedy Boylston; and son and daughter-in-law Ray S. Boylston and Leigh Moore; grandchildren Christy Boylston Moore and husband Corey Moore, Brooks O. Boylston and wife Susan Woodward Boylston; Christopher Hinson and Adam Hinson; Zachary Boylston and wife Jenn Moore Boylston of Wilmington, NC, Mitchell Boylston and Samuel Boylston. Ray's great grandchildren are Cameron, Katie and Ryann Moore; Benjamin, Cecilia and Rosemary Boylston; all of Raleigh.
Ray Boylston was preceded in death by his parents, Lillie Victoria Boylston and Raymond Powell Boylston and brother Samuel L. Boylston of Columbia, SC.
The family wishes to thank all of the caregivers from Comfort Keepers and Hospice of Wake County for their support and assistance during the past few months. Their gentle nature and compassion were a blessing to the entire Boylston family.
Suggested memorials are American Cancer Society or the Jimmy V Foundation. Share your condolences at www.brownwynne.com