Obituary

Arthur Mitchell Boyer died May 31, 2023, peacefully in his sleep at home. He was born November 8, 1941, in Des Moines, IA and was 81. Services for Arthur will be held at Saint Luke's Episcopal Church, 3424 Forest Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50311 on Friday, October 6, 2023 at 11:00am with visitation from 10:00am till service time. A luncheon will follow his service.

Art was an amazing husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend to many. Art was married 60 years to the love of his life, Ruth “Pete” Boyer. His marriage to Pete was a love story from their first meeting at Methodist Hospital, where he was a patient and she was his nurse. They loved adventure and were committed to adventuring together. Art and Pete travelled all over the world: island hopping to St. Lucia in their Cessna Skylane 182RG, SCUBA diving in the reefs near Palau, touring Beijing, Bangkok, St. Petersburg and Paris. Their last trip abroad was to Florence in 2016. But in the last few years, their favorite destination was their lake home in the Ozarks, sitting on the deck together and watching the water and enjoying family and friends.

Art loved the oil business. He grew up with his father’s company, Boyer Petroleum, a wholesale lubricant distributor in Des Moines. Art started full-time at the family business in 1964, after returning to Iowa from University of Oklahoma with Pete and their daughter Kristin. His son, David, joined the company in 1990. Art’s leadership sustained and grew Boyer Petroleum. He was admired in the industry both locally and nationally, with a wide-reaching network as a Kendall distributor. What he loved the most about the business were the connections he made with his customers, employees, and the lifelong friends that came from it. He led and influenced the business for five decades, retiring effectively in 2016, when Boyer Petro merged to form Lube-Tech & Partners.

In addition to his wife, Pete, he is survived by daughter, Kristin (Mark) Gahm, and their daughters Tessa (Derek) Brown, children Gavin, Harper, Ace, & Sophia; and Anna (Andrew) Siegrist; son David and his children Elizabeth, Andrea (John) Sagan, Mason (Lauren) & Carson. Art was preceded in death by his parents, George and Marion, and his sisters, Judith and Joyce.

Memorials in Art’s memory may be directed to Animal Rescue League of Iowa, or Food Bank of Iowa.



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