Boyd Eliot Vogeler

Our beloved and stalwart husband, father, and grandfather, Boyd Eliot Vogeler, passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 11, 2026, after a two-year battle with ALS. While the disease took him too early and robbed him of the strength and independence he used his entire life in service to others, we are grateful for the opportunity his diagnosis provided to care for him the way he always cared for us, and to express every day our deep love and appreciation for his incredible life and example.

Boyd was born on August 27, 1947, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Olaf Haakon Vogeler and Margit Knutsen, just a few short weeks after they stepped off the boat from Norway. He grew up in Rose Park’s Scandinavian community with his sister Karen and a menagerie of dogs, cats, rabbits, and birds, learning Norwegian well before English, but ultimately mastering both.

From an early age, Boyd had a deep connection with and love for the outdoors. Together with life-long friends Dale Tippets and Lynn Livingston, he would head to the mountains to fish, hunt, and camp. That love of the outdoors only grew as Boyd started his own family. He would take his family camping and fishing to the Uintas as often as they would let him. Annual spring, summer, and fall trips to the small family cabin at Hebgen Lake, Montana were absolute musts, even if it meant seven hours in a minivan with five kids and no iPads to get there.

After graduating from West High School, Boyd was called to serve a mission in Norway, just as his father had done four (!) times, and labored in some of the same cities and areas that Olaf had. His mission was a challenging two-and-a-half years, but it gave him an opportunity to forge an even deeper connection to his cultural and spiritual roots, which continued to be defining characteristics throughout his life.

Boyd treasured his Norwegian heritage – maintaining close ties with his dozens of cousins, aunts, uncles, and other relatives who remained in Norway, and passing on dear traditions to his own family like Norwegian Christmas Eve and saying, “Takk for maten” (Thank you for the food) before leaving the dinner table. Thankfully he did not pass on a taste for lutefisk, questionably preserved fish, or some of the more objectionable Norwegian cheeses.

After his mission and a brief but distinguished stint with the Army Reserves, Boyd set about finding himself a wife. He has always been an organized thinker and a pragmatic problem-solver who never skimped on his diligence to make sure his choices were the right and best ones, and he took that same approach to courtship. By his own account, he took over 60 girls on dates in his college years trying to find the right person, but none of them seemed to be the one. That is, until he met Marcia Ann Feinauer. He “knew immediately that there was something very, very special about Marcia,” and they formed an intangible connection that would blossom and deepen for more than 50 years. After a year of dating, they married in 1972 in the Salt Lake Temple. They would go on to have five children and later nine grandchildren, all of whom owe everything to the love, sacrifice, stability, devotion, and example that they saw in Boyd and Marcia.

Boyd’s natural smarts, along with his love for problem solving and skill in improving processes, led him to degrees in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Administration from the University of Utah. He put his education to use in a long career overseeing systems improvements in the healthcare industry (which he lamented was “broken beyond repair”). He also remained an eternally curious lover of learning and a voracious reader, littering his home with neat stacks of National Geographic and astronomy magazines, newspapers, and hundreds of books. If there was something Boyd didn’t know, he wanted to learn, and he’d often just do it on his own. In a pre-YouTube era, he taught himself to build most of the family home. He was an early adopter of computers and loved learning about technology, building his own radios and telescopes. He developed a love of orchid-growing and landscaping from his in-laws and became a true expert with his green thumb, frequently advising neighbors and friends and fostering struggling plants.

Boyd threw himself into spiritual matters with as much gusto as he did the sciences. He grew a deep and abiding faith and testimony in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and had a scholar’s thirst for scriptures, sermons, theology, and religious history. Beyond his studies, Boyd lived the values and tenets of his faith with devotion, consistency, wisdom, perspective, and surety, and became a true disciple of Christ. He radiated Gospel principles and Christ-like attributes and instilled the same in his family through his unwavering example.

Perhaps the most defining manifestation of his love and faith was Boyd’s service mindset. Ever the “Norwegian bachelor farmer,” he hated asking for help, and the mere thought of burdening others was torture. But he would jump at every opportunity to serve others. When his sons’ baseball teams needed coaches, he was there year after year pitching, teaching, and taking line-drives to the chest. When the Boy Scout troop needed a Scoutmaster, he was there working with the scouts on merit badges, taking them camping and fishing, instilling in them values and work ethic, and helping them feel seen and appreciated. When his neighbors needed help, he was there with a shovel, a rake, a toolbelt, a gift, a poinsettia, or just a friendly visit. And for the last 10 years, Boyd served all comers as a missionary at the Family History Library, throwing himself into genealogy and helping to find and connect lost relatives to their families. Having never been formally released from his missionary calling, Boyd now has the pleasure of carrying that mantle with him to advance the work from the other side.

The mark Boyd left on those around him is indelible, made through the steady, day-to-day consistency of living a life of values and purpose, and the impact he had will resonate for generations as people who saw and benefited from his kindness, his wisdom, and his shining example reflect those attributes to others in their own lives.

True to character, Boyd is now busy preparing the other side for a host of remaining loved ones – his devoted and loving wife Marcia; children Heidi, Kirsti (Sergio Polo), Eric (Erin Roundy), Tim, and Michael (Tiegan Hatch); and grandchildren Allison, Bonnie, Virginia, Haakon, Ingrid, Mila, Enzo, Brooklyn, and Otto.

We want to thank Boyd’s many doctors, nurses, caregivers, and ALS support networks for their kindness and generosity over these two years, and to extend our gratitude to all of the neighbors, friends, family members and others who have been part of the village taking care of the Vogelers. Despite his allergy to being served, Boyd cherished his relationships and time with each of you and was thankful beyond words for your love and care.

We will hold a viewing on Friday evening, October 16, from 6-8pm at Larkin Sunset Lawn (2350 E 1300 S, Salt Lake City, UT). Boyd’s memorial service will take place on Saturday, October 17 at 12:00pm at the Monument Park Ward Building (1005 S 2000 E, Salt Lake City, UT), with a visitation period for family and friends beginning at 10:30am. For those unable to attend in person, the service will be available to livestream by clicking the “Watch Services” link above.

Though Boyd loved orchids, in lieu of flowers we encourage anyone who wants to express condolences with a gift or gesture to do so via a donation to the ALS Association (als.org) to further their search for a cure, or to the General Missionary Fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to further the work of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We love you, Boyd. We miss you. And we can’t wait to see you again. Takk for alt. Glad i deg for alltid.