Byron Ralph Boxwell<br/> October 7, 1923 - August 15, 2014

Byron Ralph Boxwell, 90, of Burbank passed away on August 15, 2014 spending his last days the way he wanted, at home with his devoted wife and family by his side.

He was born a twin in Cedar Rapids Iowa on October 7, 1923 to Ralph and Edna Boxwell. He was raised by his father and step-mother, Olga Boxwell.

He served in the army from 1943 until 1946 when he was honorably discharged after being wounded. In addition to the Purple Heart, he was awarded the American Theater Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal and the European African Middle Eastern Theater Service Medal.

After growing up in Iowa, Byron moved to California for a temporary job over the summer. California became his permanent residence.

He met his first wife, Betty, while they worked together. They married in 1951 and had 6 children. Betty succumbed to cancer in 1969. Byron was lucky enough to meet Thelma “Phyl” Mastrull-Kelly through mutual friends. They were married on May 22, 1971 and rarely left each other’s side. Phyl had 2 sons which grew the Boxwell-Kelly family to 8 children.

Byron was a State Farm insurance agent in Burbank for 45 years. He was an active member of the Kiwanis club for 15 years where he served as both president and secretary. After retiring in 1995, he and his beloved wife were able to play even more golf. As members of Crystalaire Country Club, much time was spent there as well as every other golf course in southern California and beyond. Byron had a hole in one on the 11th hole at Crystalaire.

Byron is survived by his beloved wife of 43 years “Phyl”, 8 children: Kevin (Krista) Kelly, John (Cindy) Kelly, Tari Boxwell, Steve (Karen) Boxwell, Cindy (Ron) Johnson, MaryAnn Kelly, Kim Bowell and Tammie (Michael) Wrocklage; 15 grandchildren: Kathleen, Jamie, Erin, Kevin, Jennifer, Matt, Jeremy, John, Zack, Amy, Katie, Mark, Paul, Shaun and Nicole; 13 great-grandchildren: Ethan, Erin, Jaime, Jane, Makena, Lucas, Leighton, Julia, Sophia, Elizabeth, Abbey, James and Hannah. He was also lucky to have the love of his nieces and nephews, Cheri, Vicky, Pam, Bill and their children.

Byron was preceded in death by his parents, his older brother Robert and his twin brother William.

The family would like to thank Mack and Evelyn of for the devoted care they provided to our loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather; Vic and George at Karen Pharmacy for consistently going above and beyond and Dr. Manzar Kuraishi for his years of loving kindness and support.

In lieu of flowers, Byron requested donations be made to Prostate Cancer Research Institute to honor the memory of his twin brother, William Boxwell, 5777 W. Century Blvd. Suite 800, Los Angeles, California 90045 (310)743-2116, prostate-cancer.org or The Wounded Warrier Project https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org

A memorial service will be held at St. Robert Bellarmine Church in Burbank on Saturday, September 27th at 10:00am. A celebration of his life will follow at Calamigos Equestrian Center 480 Riverside Drive, Burbank, CA.