Joan L. Boyd, 81

Joan L. Boyd died April 2, 2025. She had Parkinson’s disease for more than five years. Over the last three years, she resided at Rockwood Retirement Center South Hill in Spokane, where she received excellent 24-hour care from the skilled nursing staff.

Joan was born June 1, 1943, to Katheryn and Ernest Rumpeltes on a military base in Sioux Falls, S.D., where her father, a dentist, was stationed. Her early school years were spent in Tucson, Ariz., where her father was with the Veterans Administration. Later, Joan’s family moved to Boise and lived on the VA grounds there. Joan graduated from Boise High School in the spring of 1961.

She attended the University of Idaho, where she graduated summa cum laude in 1965 with a degree in English and qualifications to teach. She was a Pi Beta Phi sorority member, where she made some lifelong friends. Joan married William F. Boyd, also a graduate of Boise High School and the University of Idaho College of Law, on June 14, 1965. They moved to Kellogg on July 1, 1965. Joan taught English and Literature at Kellogg High School, then Silver Hills Junior High in Osburn and again at Kellogg High for a total of 22 years.

The Boyds moved to Coeur d’Alene in June 1998. Joan continued to teach in Kellogg until she retired in 2000. Always interested in education, after her retirement she took one course each fall and spring semester at North Idaho College for 20 years. At the same time, she was a part-time supervisor of student teachers for the University of Idaho.

Joan enjoyed the family’s summer cabin on Lake Coeur d’Alene, vacations in Hawaii, skiing, golfing, hiking and cross-country skiing with her friends, PEO and University of Idaho football games, her children and grandchildren and travel to foreign countries including England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Switzerland, China and others.

Joan is survived by her husband; her daughter, Dana Cocales (Bart) and their children, Claire and Kate; daughter Corey Hertz (John) and their children, Hannah and Grace; her brother, Craig Rumpeltes (Sherrie) and sister Jane Cooper (Gary) as well as her nieces and nephews. 

Memorial services will be held in Coeur d’Alene at Trinity Lutheran Church, 812 N. Fifth St., on Saturday, May 17, at 11 a.m. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Foundation, 702 E. Front, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814, or the church.

Arrangements are provided by Yates Funeral Home. Online registry and condolences may be found at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.