Bera Faye Spann Boyd Johnson

 Bera Faye Spann Boyd Johnson was known for her Christian faith, her devotion to family, her dedication to her students, her school library, her volunteer zeal, and her beautiful soprano voice.

 She was born in Munday, Texas on February 4, 1937 to Oscar Spann and Bera Bowden Spann. She was kin to half the town and grew up a self-proclaimed tomboy who learned to swim in the ditches beside the road to her house. Her family was active in the Munday Methodist Church, leading to a lifetime of active participation in the denomination. A lifelong Munday Mogul, she was Valedictorian, drum major, basketball player, and cheerleader while in school. She even taught her grandchildren the “15-rah Cheer” she learned at the football games. Bera was surrounded by a loving and supportive family and community in Munday, which shaped the rest of her life. After she graduated from Munday High in 1954, she went to Abilene and McMurry College. She graduated from McMurry College in 1958 and was an active alumna for the school and Delta Beta Epsilon sorority. Through McMurry and its organizations, she first traveled outside Texas and even met Senator Lyndon Johnson in Washington D.C. 

Bera started her teaching career in Lubbock, Texas. She knew she had met the right man when she and Bobby Boyd drove around the city harmonizing to Gospel tunes while on their first date. They were wed in 1959 and soon moved to Amarillo Texas, where their two children were born. In 1970, the family moved to Hereford, Texas where she and Bobby spent most of their years together. While teaching in Hereford, Bera went back to school and earned her Master’s in Library Science. Her love of books was the basis for her children’s love of reading and learning and allowed her the privilege of creating a school library from the ground up at a new elementary school in Hereford. 

Music and singing were always present in her life. She and Bobby sang duets at home and at church, and later her children joined them as a quartet. She was a member of her church choir wherever she lived throughout her lifetime. She and Bobby were founding members of the Hereford Chamber Singers and traveled the world with the group laughing and singing. Her father built a cabin in Colorado in the mid-1960s for the extended family to use. This place in the mountains became an annual retreat for the family, and a special place in her heart. It continues to be a place where her family remembers her. Bera and Bobby were married for 49 years. After Bobby’s death in 1998, she rekindled her Munday connections and married her childhood friend Leon Johnson in 2003. Together they moved to Abilene, where Bera spent her last two decades. Her second marriage ended much too soon, with the passing of Leon in 2008.She then found purpose in her single years in Abilene at Aldersgate Methodist Church, Friends of Abilene State Park, Grace Museum, and Frontier Texas. Her friends in these organizations were her family, and some of the closest friends she ever made were during her years in Abilene. Her last day was spent doing what she loved: bird watching with her family in a State Park. Her last words were “Wasn’t it a good day!”. 

She died peacefully surrounded by family on March 20, 2026. She is greeted in Heaven by her father Oscar and mother Bera, her three older siblings Oscar Jr., Janie, and George, and all her cousins. 

She is survived by her son Brent Boyd and wife Amy of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and her daughter Bethany Boyd of Allen, Texas. She is also survived by Doozy, her cat, and her five grandchildren: Anderson Boyd, Joseph Boyd, Grace Blair (Jacob), Hayden Houpt, and Graham Houpt. 

Memorials may be sent to Aldersgate Methodist Church in Abilene Texas. 

A memorial service will be held at Aldersgate at a later date.