Norman J. Boyan was born on April 11, 1922 in the Bronx, N.Y. He died peacefully at home in Santa Barbara, CA on December 2, 2020. He was a wonderful husband and a devoted father, grandfather and great grandfather.
Norman was an accomplished educator, a warm and caring friend, and a skilled athlete who enjoyed baseball, basketball, golf, and cycling. He was a regular participant in exercise activities at the Valle Verde Senior Living Community, well into his 90s. A great storyteller with a wealth of tales, he had an amazing memory, an infectious laugh, and an outgoing and warm-hearted personality, with a smile always dancing around his mouth as he spun his stories. He was a man of great integrity, patient and kind, who truly enjoyed life and his family.
Both of Norman’s parents were deaf and did not speak, making it all the more remarkable that he grew up to become such a learned and erudite man. His parents were of Italian heritage on his mother’s side and Irish on his father’s side. He was schooled in the Bronx and Mount Vernon, NY, graduating from A.B. Davis High School in 1938 (at age 16) where he was very active in sports and student activities. He attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where he met his future wife, Priscilla, who was also attending Bates. At Bates he was active in student government and sports, Editor of the school paper, and was chosen for Phi Beta Kappa.
He joined the Army in 1943 but still graduated with a BA in History and Government and married Priscilla that same year. He received his commission as 2nd Lt. in September 1944 and his oldest son, Stephen, now deceased, was born at Boca Raton, Florida, Air Base while he was on active duty. He spent his service years at bases in the U.S. and after discharge in January 1946, he entered graduate study at Harvard University, receiving an MA in History in 1947 and an Ed.D. in Educational Administration in 1951.
Norman spent 44 years in education, from 1946 to his retirement in 1990, including positions as research assistant, high school instructor, Assistant Principal at Mineola High School and Principal of the Wheatley School (both on Long Island, NY), Director of Student Teaching and Internship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Associate Professor at Stanford University. From 1967-1969 he worked in the-then U.S. Office of Education as Director of Educational Laboratories, and from 1969 until 1980 he was Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California at Santa Barbara, retiring from UCSB as Professor of Education Emeritus in 1990.
He was very involved in educational literature, serving as contributor to and editor of many publications, including the first Handbook of Research on Educational Administration, published in 1988. His professional activities included several stints as visiting professor or visiting scholar at schools around the US and around the world, and consultant and accreditation services to a large number of school districts, colleges and universities.
He leaves two sons (Craig and Corydon), two marvelous daughters-in-law (Barbara and Debra), four wonderful grandchildren (Ivy, Omar, Haley, and Andrew), four great grandchildren (LaJune, Aria, Chalandra and Josephine), and a close niece (Keren). He was predeceased by his wife, Priscilla, his son Stephen and his daughter Patricia.
Norman’s life embodied the essence of the American dream, celebrating the central importance of love, family and hard work. He and his wife Priscilla enjoyed a long, beautiful and well-lived life. They met more than 80 years ago, and spent 77 years as loving husband and wife. When she passed in November he followed her almost immediately, with only 12 days separating their departures. They are together again, as they always were, a beautiful love story for the ages.
