Funeral services for Felon Bartley “Bart” Boykin III, 60, of Hollandale will be held on Friday, December 14, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at Hollandale United Methodist Church, 110 E Washington St, Hollandale, MS 38748. Bart died unexpectedly on Saturday, December 8. The burial will be in the Hollandale Cemetery under the direction of Boone Funeral Home of Greenville, and there will be a visitation from 1:00-2:00 p.m. on Friday at the church.
Beloved husband, son, father and grandfather, Bart was a lifelong sports fan. One simply cannot remember Bart without thinking of baseball. From an early age he spent time playing baseball with his friends. He attended Deer Creek School in Hollandale and his love of the sport continued throughout junior high and high school. Bart went on to play college baseball at Ole Miss as a catcher from 1976 to 1980. While at Ole Miss, Bart was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity where he made some of his dearest friends.
Bart was inducted into the M Club at Ole Miss and later selected as a member of the All SEC team of 1980. He passed the love of the game on to his son, Brett, who followed in his father’s footsteps as catcher and played at Delta State University. During Brett’s childhood, Bart and Brett could be found at the field at all hours of the night where Bart would teach him the game of baseball as well as life lessons. Bart also served as a boys baseball and girls softball coach at Deer Creek for over 20 years. Many of his girls softball teams achieved District, North District and State titles during his coaching years at Deer Creek School and several of “his girls” were awarded scholarships to play college ball.
Bart was also an avid outdoorsman. He loved hunting, but his real passion was the relationships he formed and memories made in the fields. He had a reputation across the Delta for his ability to find the best dove, duck and goose fields. The friends that he brought together through these hunts have built relationships that will last a lifetime. He had several nicknames depending on the group of friends he was with: “Blue” or “Blackie”.
Anyone who knew Bart knew how proud he was of his wife Christy and his sons, Brett and John Bartley. He would beam when asked about his two sons, and he adored his two grandsons (ages three and one), who returned his adoration. You could often find Bart in Cleveland attending birthday parties, soccer games, school programs, or helping out with the young boys. It would give him great joy to play catch with his three-year-old grandson, already teaching him baseball fundamentals like how to pick up the ball with his left hand, transfer it to his right hand and then throw it.
Bart’s friends have described him as “tough as nails”, fun, a great friend and full of life. He loved Motown music, Ole Miss Athletics and never met a stranger. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
Bart is survived by his wife, Christy Rooker Boykin of Hollandale; mother, Vivian Boykin Ferguson (Travis) of Greenville; two sons, Brett Boykin (Katie) of Cleveland and John Bartley Boykin of Jackson; two step-sons, Hunter Quinton of Pensacola, FL and Austin Parsons of Hollandale; sister, Tammy Boykin Vaughan (Stacy) of Kingsport, TN; two grandchildren, Chapman Boykin and Hampton Boykin; niece, Elaina Vaughan and nephew, Noah Vaughan.
Bart was preceded in death by his father, Fieldon Bartley Boykin, II.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in his name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.