Selba Francis Meadows Boyd was the daughter of Jean James and the late Harvey Eugene Meadows. She was born in Ashland West Virginia on February 14, 1936. She was baptized in West Virginia and a member of Midway Shiloh Temple Church. Selba received her formal education in the public school system in West Virginia and graduated from Elkhorn High School. Selba was joined in marriage for 69 years to her lifelong soul mate Carl P Boyd.
Selba earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Bluefield State College. After graduating she relocated to Philadelphia and obtained a teaching position with the School District of Philadelphia, and shortly after she was offered a position within the Abington School District. During her teaching career, Selba returned to Antioch University to earn her Master’s Degree.
During her 40-year teaching career, Selba touched the lives of many young people. There is a saying that “a good education can change anyone, but a good teacher can change everything”, and Selba did that for each and every child in her classroom.
Selba and Carl provided the Bluefield State University, and the Alumni with a collection of archival memories of the history of Bluefield State College in West Virginia. The collection spans the years 1895 to 2020, and includes photos, newspapers, magazine articles, school publications, and school history.
Selba served as Secretary, and many other positions in the Alumni Association over a period of 60 years, and was also selected as Alumni Queen. Selba and Carl provided thousands of dollars to create the Carl and Selba Meadows Boyd Scholarship Endowment Fund for students at Bluefield State College, and the scholarship was extended to include students from Janes Methodist Church willing to attend the Bluefield State College, in Bluefield West Virginia. Selba and Carl were honored by the Bluefield State College by naming the conference room Carl P and Selba M Boyd Conference Room.
Selba was also one of the curators that provided Janes Memorial United Methodist Church with 150 years of archival history, pictures, and assortment of documents and history of the church.
If all that wasn’t enough, Selba was a mother, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority member, model, actress, dancer, and a friend to all! She was a beautiful person inside and out, was kind, and cared deeply for the people around her.
Selba was preceded in death by her son, Carl P Boyd Jr., Brothers, Zebedee, Edward, Donald, Larry and Ronald Meadows, and her Sisters, Thelma Conrad Jones, Ernestine Adams, and Ethel Meadows Costello.
Selba leaves to mourn her devoted Husband, Carl P Boyd, her Daughter, Carla Elle Boyd, her Sister-in-Law, Christine Meadows, and a host of loving and devoted Nieces and Nephews, Bluefield State University Alumni, longtime Friends, and Awbury Neighbors. We will always carry your memory in our hearts.