Thomas Edward "Tommy" Boyer's Obituary
Thomas Edward “Tommy” Boyer died on February 19, 2025 after a brief illness, at the age of 84. He is survived by Sylvia, his college sweetheart and wife of 60 years, and his beloved daughter Melissa Boyer. He is also survived by sister-in-law Hilda Jo Boyer and nieces Susie Rosenthal (Brian), Linda Bridges, and Joan Boyer. He was preceded in death by his parents, Leona Martha and Thomas F. Boyer, as well as his older siblings, brother The Honorable Robert E. Boyer and sister Jackie Carey. He was known and loved by family and friends for his good-natured mischievousness and fun-loving personality. He loved working in his yard, had a deep faith, and loved animals – most especially dogs, including his most recent rescue dogs, Maggie and Taco.
Originally from Fort Smith, he graduated from the University of Arkansas College of Business, now known as the Sam M. Walton College of Business, in 1964. During his time at the University, he excelled on the basketball court, where he was an All-American and set three NCAA records for free-throw percentage. After declining to play basketball professionally, he went to work as a sales manager for Eastman Kodak, where he exceeded his sales goals every year for 26 years – the only person in the company’s history ever to do so. After retiring from Kodak, he founded his own company, Micro Images, and within two years built it into the nation’s largest re-seller of Kodak document imaging hardware and software.
Tommy’s many service involvements stand as testament to his lifelong interest in philanthropy and service to the greater good. He firmly believed that success is never yours alone – we always owe something to the many people who have helped us along the way, so we should hoard neither the credit for, nor the benefits of, success, but rather share them – that success brings a tremendous amount of responsibility to our fellow man and, most importantly, that education is the foundation for opportunity, growth, and development, and we therefore have an obligation to do all we can to make a first-class education available to all. These beliefs motivated him to try to inspire, encourage, and support young people in their efforts to build a better future, both for themselves and our society as a whole, and he put enormous effort into that goal. In addition to his time serving as Vice-Chairman of the National Development Council (now Grow America), he also has an extensive record of service to the University, including serving as Vice-Chairman of the University of Arkansas Foundation Board of Trustees; Co-Chairman of the University’s Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, which raised over one billion dollars; a Member of the Chancellor’s Society; and on the Board of Advisors. He also served as Chairman of the Walton College Dean’s Executive Advisory Board (2003-2008) and on the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Board.
Over the years, the Boyers established multiple scholarships across the University of Arkansas, including through the Arkansas Alumni Association and the University of Arkansas School of Law (in honor of his brother Bob), as well as one-time scholarships intended to assist already-enrolled students whose academic career would otherwise be interrupted due to lack of funding. In 1989, to mark their 25th wedding anniversary, the Boyers each established a scholarship in the other’s name – one at the College of Business, and the other at the College of Education and Health Professions – and in 1999, they established the Boyer Fellowship, the largest annual fellowship at the University, to encourage Arkansas students to attend the Walton College. As of February 2025, a total of 236 students have benefitted from the scholarships and fellowship established by the Boyers.
In addition to his efforts to provide financial support to students, Tommy always took a genuine interest in getting to know and mentoring students. He invested time in learning about their interests and goals, providing guidance and thoughtful advice, and making those around him feel valued. His emphasis on building supportive relationships will have a ripple effect on generations to come. Tommy also loved to show his support for all University athletic endeavors by attending as many games and meets as he could, and enthusiastically cheering on all of the young men and women who compete on behalf of his beloved Razorbacks – though he took particular delight in challenging members of the men’s and women’s basketball teams to free-throw contests, perhaps because he always won.
Tommy’s business success, generosity, and steadfast support for his alma mater have been repeatedly recognized, both in Arkansas and beyond. The University named the Boyers its 1992 Volunteers of the Year; in 1998, Walton College named Tommy its Entrepreneur of the Year; in 1999, the Boyers received the Alumni Association’s Andrew J. Lucas Distinguished Service Award and became founding gold members of the Towers of Old Main giving society; in 2000, Tommy was awarded The Medallion for Entrepreneurship, a national award recognizing outstanding individuals who combine innovative business achievement with service to humanity; in 2013, he was inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame, which annually inducts no more than four outstanding business leaders who are Arkansans by birth or by choice and have demonstrated concern for improving the community as well as strong ethics in all business dealings; and, in 2017, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas by Governor Asa Hutchinson.
Before Tommy achieved business success, he achieved success on the basketball court, beginning in high school, where he was coached by fellow Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee Gayle Kaundart. After leading Fort Smith High School to back-to-back state championships, Tommy was recruited by multiple programs, including Kentucky, but ultimately chose Arkansas so his parents could attend games. He was the first collegiate player to achieve a free-throw percentage over 90%, and he led the NCAA in free-throw percentage his junior (93.3%) and senior (91.3%) years – but he was quick to point out that he was just average as a sophomore. It wasn’t until he and a teammate got into a competition with each other, and started pushing each other and making each other better, that he became better than average. He was proud to say that, when he was the best free-throw shooter in the nation, that same teammate was the second best, because they had challenged and encouraged each other. Tommy believed that his experience on the basketball court, and especially his achievements in making free throws, were instrumental in preparing him for business success. He liked to say that, while slam dunks are exciting, garner much attention, and routinely make highlight reels, they rarely win games; by contrast, the humble, unexciting, unglamorous free throw is often what actually wins those nail-biting close games – and free throws are a perfect example of how working hard to do small things well can make a huge difference. Being good at free throws doesn’t require much in the way of natural athleticism; rather, it requires a strong work ethic – a willingness to put in the time and practice, day in and day out, to perfect your technique – concentration, visualization, and a commitment to learning and improving, as well as a short memory for failure. He believed in the importance of visualization – seeing in his mind’s eye how many times he would bounce the ball on the floor before making his shot, his stance, how he would move, how the ball would arc, how it would hit the net – and he did the same thing in his business life, mentally rehearsing being successful. He also emphasized the importance of refusing to dwell on failures, saying that you should learn what you can from your failures, but then move on, focus on the things you can control and change and improve, and work toward a positive outcome next time. At the same time, though, he believed that another key element of success is being able to relax and enjoy what you do – enjoy improving, enjoy practicing, enjoy the rewards of success as well as the work required to get there. He said that success is the end result of hard work, dogged persistence, and the unshakeable belief that effort and persistence will let you beat the odds. He believed you should never let fear – of making a mistake, of failure, of humiliation – get in your way. He taught the importance of being able to motivate yourself, pointing out that external motivation can disappear at any time, but if you can find your motivation inside yourself, no one can ever take it from you. He believed that success is a long game, and that it is important to think in terms of the coming years, not just the coming hours, days, or months.
Tommy believed that what ultimately determines whether we have succeeded or failed is how we make use of the time given to us, and that it is important to try to affect the people around us in a positive way. By these metrics, Tommy was a resounding success.
The funeral will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 224 North East Avenue, in Fayetteville, on Saturday, April 5, at three o’clock in the afternoon; a reception will follow in the parish hall. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any memorials be directed in support of Dr. Matthew A. Waller who holds the William Dillard II Leadership Chair in Business Walton College of Business. Checks should be made payable to the University of Arkansas Foundation, with Dillard Leadership Chair in the memo line, and sent to UA Gift Administration, 481 South Shiloh, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72704.
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