Longtime Tucson civic leader, rancher and champion of higher education Fred Boice died on Tuesday, May 5. He was 96.
Boice was an influential community leader, having served on the Arizona Board of Regents, Tucson Airport Authority, Tucson Medical Center's Board of Trustees and numerous nonprofit and civic boards. He also served as president of the University of Arizona Foundation and was a founding member of the Tucson Conquistadores, the civic group that helped establish the Tucson Open golf tournament.
Born in Pasadena, California, in 1930, Boice was raised in Tucson after his family moved to the Old Pueblo in 1937. He attended Sam Hughes Elementary, Mansfeld Junior High and Tucson Senior High School, according to Inside Tucson Business.
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Ranching became central to his life early on. At age 11, Boice began spending his summers working on an Arivaca cattle ranch south of Tucson, experiences that launched a lifelong career in the cattle industry.
Fred Boice in 2005.
Boice moved to Los Angeles to attend Occidental College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics, before moving back to Southern Arizona to take up cattle ranching full-time. He started his own firm, the American Cattle Company, and later served as president of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association and on the executive committee of the National Cattlemen’s Association.
But it was his civic involvement that made Boice one of Tucson’s most respected behind-the-scenes leaders.
In 2002, then-Gov. Jane Hull appointed Boice to the Arizona Board of Regents. During his tenure, he advocated for expanding access to affordable higher education and became the first regent to serve two consecutive terms as board president.
Boice also served on boards and committees, including Arizona State Parks, Junior Achievement of Tucson and the Tucson Metro Chamber. In 2017, Greater Tucson Leadership honored him with its Founders Award for his civic contributions.
He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Ann Kelley Boice, his sister, Peggy Rubel; his five children, Henry Boice, Mariann Bailey, Jenny Boice, Fred Boice Jr. and Margaret Trouard; as well as 15 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
He requested no memorial service, and contributions in his memory can be made to the University of Arizona Foundation.
