EVA B. BOYCE

Eva Belle Boyce, 88, of St. Louis, died Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1993, at DePaul Hospital in Bridgeton.

She was born Feb. 22, 1905, in Duck Hill, Miss., daughter of Willis and Louvenia Benford Eskridge. She first married Avery Townsend March 10, 1924, at Duck Hill. He died Sept. 6, 1952. She later married William Boyce Aug. 23, 1962, in St. Louis. He died in April 1983.

Boyce moved to St. Louis in 1987. She was a member of New Christ Temple Church there. She had attended Hopewell Baptist Church in Carbondale, Ill., where she sang, was pianist and usher.

Survivors include a son, James Townsend of Grand Rapids, Mich.; a daughter, Eva Spears of St. Louis; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by 12 brothers and sisters.

Funeral service will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. Elder Alexander Whittier will officiate, with burial in Oakland Cemetery at Carbondale.

Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today.