David L. Boyer

Jun 29, 1954 -

Mar 6, 2023

Dave L. Boyer, 68, passed away on March 6, 2023, with his family by his side in Anchorage, Alaska, after a 20-year battle with cancer. Born June 29, 1954, in Lancaster, Pa., he was the son of the late William and Betty Jane Boyer. He is survived by his loving family in Alaska: his dear wife, Dom Boyer; and children, Brandon Boyer and Tasha Boyer Dunbar.

He developed a passion for rocks and minerals and graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in geology. Afterwards, he graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1979 with a master's in geology and then went west, towards real mountains, and never looked back.

Out west, he skied, hiked, traveled, was published a bunch, did some field work and made many friends along the way. Starting in Denver, Colo., he worked for ARCO Coal and then made the move to petroleum exploration, eventually taking a leap of faith going up to Alaska in 1984. In 1990, he met the love of his life, Dom, in Thailand, and then built a loving, tight-knit family. Annual family trips to Thailand were always the highlight of his year.

Over a nearly 40-year career in Alaska, working for ARCO, BP, ASRC, PRA and Linc Energy, he went on to plan or geosteer (onsite) wells in nearly every Alaska North Slope field including: Alpine, Prudhoe Bay, Kuparak, Milne Point (light and viscous oil), West Sak (viscous oil), Niakuk, Point McIntyre, Endicott, Lisburne, Badami, North Star, North Prudhoe, West Beach, Aurora/Borealis, Tabasco and Umiat before closing out his career at the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

As a proud child of the '60s, he was a profoundly creative nonconformist and risk-taker: he believed in taking stands and doing what is right. He was old school, cultured and worldly, values that he imbued to his family. He possessed a deep intellectual curiosity and was always adamant about the importance of a good education and a commitment to lifelong learning. Among his many interests were rocks and minerals, Thailand and world travel, classic rock and Doo Wop, science, baseball, theater and the arts, reading, nature, museums, The Economist and PBS. Above all, he loved and cared for his family and was always there for them. We are all better for having known him and fondly miss him.