Terri Daun O'Neal Boyd
Terri Daun O’Neal Boyd, an angel placed on Earth to offer love and support, and affirm God’s love for us, passed away in her home on Dec. 1, 2015, after a long and courageous battle with breast cancer. Throughout her journey, she never complained or felt sorry for herself. She always had a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eye, a beautiful soul inside and out. Terri was an inspiration to everyone she met. She was caring, generous and loving. She devoted herself to always finding the good in people and to help others in need.
Terri was the third daughter born to Boise and Norma Jean O’Neal on June 15, 1960 in Whitefish.
Terri graduated from Columbia Falls High School in 1978. The day after her high school graduation she and a friend jumped on a motorcycle and drove to Phoenix, Arizona to be near her mother and maternal grandparents, Matthew and Frieda Schritter.
She met and married the love of her life, Randy Boyd, in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1984. Randy and Terri had a love of humanity. Together they were “Prayer Warriors” serving at the Church of Spiritual Awareness and ministering to patients at local hospitals. Terri served at Randy’s side to perform weddings, baptisms and funerals.
Terri was a successful, ambitious insurance business woman. She made a significant impact in the insurance business. She enjoyed the industry, and worked her way to the top, becoming a COO of a major insurance company. She was dedicated to her employees and co-workers, whom she treated like family. With her positive professional manner, Terri was a respected businesswoman, admired by her peers, and loved by many. She was also featured in the Arizona Business Woman magazine.
Her family and friends were her life. She always managed time for work and play. Terri loved to travel. She traveled to Scotland, England, the Bahamas and especially loved Kaui, Hawaii. Terri wrote in her travel journal she made in Kaui, to always live “here and now,” enjoying every moment of every day.
She adored her nieces and nephews and they were her “children.” She was also like a mother to her dear friend, Adam Dizes. She had a strong love for animals, and had three cats, which fascinated her and comforted her until her last moments. She grew up in and always loved Montana. She and her husband Randy made it a priority to come home to Montana and enjoy her beautiful home state and family.
Terri was also very active in the community in Arizona to helping those less fortunate. She started an annual Christmas Eve blanket drive for the homeless. One year several vehicles were full to the roof with blankets for the less fortunate. She was also involved in the Ronald McDonald House charity for ill children and their families. She once won a fundraiser drawing for a large sum of cash, and instead of keeping it, she donated every penny back to the cause.
Terri is survived by her husband Randy Boyd of Phoenix; her sister Rita Blades and her husband Rick Blades of Kalispell; sister Becky O’Neal of Arizona; nieces Heidi Gabert and Keiven Gilham, and nephews Boise Gabert and Ramon Molina; as well as many grandnieces and grandnephews.
She was preceded in death by her father, Boise O’Neal and her mother, Norma Jean O’Neal.
Please join us in celebrating Terri’s life on Dec. 12, 2015, at 11 a.m. at the Shadow Mountain Mortuary, 2350 East Greenway Road in Phoenix, Arizona. A reception will be held at Terri and Randy’s home at 15638 North 18th Street, in Phoenix. Another celebration of Terri’s life will be held in Montana in the summer of 2016. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Ronald McDonald House, 1980 E. Cambridge Avenue, Phoenix, AZ, 85006 or the Ronald McDonald Room (KRH Foundation), 310 Sunnyview Lane, Kalispell, MT, 59901.