During her last moments with her father as she was singing to him, it occurred to Angela Jones that she was losing her dad on her birthday, Jan. 28. Rather than be upset over yet another cruel twist of fate, she thought of how her dad had held and sung to her on her first day of life, and now she was returning the favor on his last day.

Howard Bruce Boyce had a rare form of cancer, sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma, which already had progressed to stage four when he was diagnosed in November. At just 63, his family wasn’t prepared to lose him yet, but he left a legacy of kindness and faith to comfort them.

"He raised us to be independent, warm and have a sense of humor…he always had a smile on his face and saw the good out of things. He enjoyed helping others out, no matter what it might be, big or small," said Jones.

Bruce and Joan, his wife of 40 years, were natives of Maryland who moved to Rockdale County in 1976 when he was transferred to Atlanta by Kimberly Clarke, his employer at the time. The Boyces’ resided in the Deer Run neighborhood for 25 years until they moved to the mountains in Ellijay several years ago. Bruce had started his own filter company, Excel Dynamics, where he worked with his other daughter, Kelly Boyce. While in Conyers, Boyce was a member of Conyers First United Methodist where he was involved in a puppet ministry and taught Sunday school.

Besides boating, gardening and hiking, Boyce’s other passion was woodworking. He created everything from his daughter Angela’s den furniture to a countless collection of Santas. From camping trips and science projects to teaching her to drive cars and boats, despite the occasional sandbar crash, Angela is the beneficiary of so many memories of her dad’s presence and patience. Not only was he a hands-on father to his daughters, but he reveled in spending time with his 13-year-old grandson, Alex Jones.

Boyce is survived by his wife of forty years, Joan A. Boyce, daughters Kelly Boyce of Tucker and Angela Jones, son-in-law Dwayne Jones, grandson Alex Jones of Conyers, and sister Bonnie Brandjes, brothers James Boyce and Gary Boyce and several nephews, all of Baltimore, Md. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m. at Conyers First United Methodist Church, 921 Main Street, Conyers. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to renal cell research at the following address: Dean R. O'Neill, Renal Cell Cancer Research Fund, e/o Foundation for the National Institute of Health (NIH), 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Md. 20814.