(April 21, 2011) Retired Disney Consumer Products Chairman Barton K. “Bo” Boyd, 68, passed away suddenly of heart failure on April 13, 2011 at his home in Mesquite, Nevada.

The beloved husband of Vickie Boyd, Bo was born in Laguna Beach, California on December 6, 1942 to Robert and Doris Boyd. He was the second of four brothers and a sister.  Eldest is Happy (Robert), after Bo was son Kelly, then Cindy, and finally Randy.  Bo attended Marie Harding Thurston Middle School, named after his maternal grandmother who was the first educator in the seaside resort community and principal of Laguna Beach School.  Bo’s maternal great-grandfather was President Warren Harding’s cousin.  Bo graduated from Laguna Beach High School and continued his education at Orange Coast College and the University of California, Irvine, majoring in business administration.

The Boyd tradition was to work in the family’s restaurant. Bob Boyd's French Restaurant was the last of four dining establishments founded by Robert Sr. in Laguna Beach.

Bo preferred the retail merchandise business and, at the age of 12, was hired by Roy Childs, owner of the landmark Pottery Shack on Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach. Mr. Childs didn’t accept applications for employment. He discovered outstanding students, recommended to him by teachers, whom he invited to come to work for him.

According to Bo, he worked at the Pottery Shack every weekend, every holiday and whenever he was on school vacation. By the time he was 16, Mr. Childs was sending him alone to Los Angeles in a big truck with a checkbook to buy dinnerware.  “I’d just comb, scour, and pack that truck to the brim as best I could over three or four days. Back in those days I’d be writing checks for maybe $40,000; so Mr. Childs instilled a lot of responsibility.”

In January 1968, at the age of 25, Bo submitted his application to work at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. At first, his application ended up in the “reject” pile. After reconsidering his application, Burns Hovey, then the number two merchandiser at Disneyland offered Bo a position after checking with a high school teacher he knew in Laguna Beach. The teacher said simply: “Hire him.”

He spent three years of training at Disneyland, beginning as an assistant supervisor on Main Street USA.  Bo recalled, “My job was looking after all the various gift shops and retail spaces, with the exception of the Emporium.” He then went to the Emporium as supervisor, all within a six-month period. However, the Pottery Shack wasn’t done with him. They made him a handsome offer to return as general manager. Disneyland’s management countered with a raise and the promise that he would play a key merchandising role in a new venture called Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. “I was the third Disney person to move to Florida. We had to create tens of thousands of square feet of store space in the new Magic Kingdom and the resort hotels around it.”  Bo and his team created purchasing systems, displays, training for 300 new employees, and warehousing operations.

Over the following three decades, Bo had the distinction of being responsible for the creation of more Disney merchandise than anyone else in the world.

He was named president of Disney Consumer Products in 1985 and appointed chairman of the rapidly expanding global operations in 1997.

During those years, under Bo’s guidance, Disney established the largest single retail operation in the United States at Walt Disney World. Disney Consumer Products built a successful worldwide network of over 700 Disney-themed retail stores and developed the art of merchandise licensing of intellectual property to a new standard of professional management.

Under the strategy of cross marketing synergy with Disney movies and theme park entertainment, Disney Consumer Products generated more than $3 billion for The Lion King—a standard by which other merchandising programs are measured.

His personal accomplishment was the creation of a global team of specialists consisting of hundreds of individuals inside and outside The Walt Disney Company who represented all facets of consumer product development, production, merchandising, distribution, rights licensing and systems management. Many on this team considered Bo as their mentor and friend.

As a durable legacy, those who knew Bo recognize that he was always a gentleman whose word was his bond, fairness guided his decisions, and personal values set the highest standards of his performance. Known for his generosity, Bo supported the Boys and Girls Club in Laguna Beach and sponsored the rebuilding of its facility. He also was an active sponsor of Little League Baseball and other civic and charitable causes.

Bo retired in 2000 from The Walt Disney Company. He sold his home and sports fishing business in Laguna Beach and relocated to Mesquite, Nevada, where he stayed in touch with many friends he had acquired around the world. Frequently, Bo and Vickie would spend time at their family compound in Victor, Idaho where Bo loved to fish at Teton River that ran near the property.

Bo was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Doris Boyd and his grandson, Cody Boyd. He is survived by his loving wife of 27 years, Vickie; his former wife, Teri; his three brothers, Robert (Happy) Boyd of Danville, California; Kelly Boyd of Laguna Beach, and Randy Boyd of Laguna Beach; and his sister, Cindy Boyd-Chudley of Braybrooke, England.

Children, Kristin Schmidt, Kelly Kiesselbach, Rob Boyd, Cam Boyd, Carrie Boyd and Chad Freeborn. Grandchildren, Nick Grothjan, Jessica Grothjan, Ryan Kiesselbach, Baylee Kiesselbach, Chase Boyd, Josh Hernandez and CJ Boyd.

A celebration of Bo’s life will be held for friends and family on Saturday, April 30, 2011, from noon to 3 p.m. at Tivoli Too!, 777 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, 92651. For information, please contact www.carolwood.com (calendar). On Sunday, Bo’s ashes will be scattered by his family at the sea he loved as a surfer and fisherman.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations are given in his name to Make-A-Wish Foundation, www.wish.com, and Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach, www.boysgirlsclublaguna.org.

-- Posted April 21, 2011