Sterling Ray Boykin

Sterling Ray Boykin, 55, left this earth to be with his Lord and Savior September 6th, 2023.  Sterling was born to Dennis and Patsy Boykin on September 27, 1967 in Corpus Christi, Texas while heading home after fleeing Hurricane Beulah.  He was the middle child of 4 siblings.  He married Melissa Wilkie, the love of his life and best friend, on May 5th, 1990 and they were blessed with 35 years together.  Sterling grew up working with his father and brothers at their family-owned air conditioning business, AIRS Company.  He also had his own side business, Sterling Taxidermy, where he did Taxidermy for all his hunting buddies.

He is survived and will be greatly missed by his wife, Melissa Boykin and their two children, Shelby (Matthew) Boykin Likes and Ryan Boykin.  He is also survived by two grandchildren, Ryder Likes and Raylee Likes, along with his mother Patsy Boykin and siblings, Julie (Glenn) Wilde, Bo (Karen) Boykin, and Lance (Jennifer) Boykin, and numerous nieces and nephews.  In-laws Jimmy Wilkie, Kathy Wilke, sister-in-law Missy (Keith) McNew and brother-in-law Bo (Libby) Wilke.

Sterling was a true outdoorsman and a man of many passions.  He was always up for an adventure.  His many hobbies ranged from hunting huge elk in the Colorado mountains, casting his fishing line into any body of water he could, or metal detecting to find all the old treasures laying around.  Beyond his love for the outdoors, he also loved collecting coins, knives and doing taxidermy.  If you were ever looking for him, you’d find him relaxing on the couch with his most treasured puppy dog “Baby Puddin”.  But most of all, his favorite thing to do was to spend time with his grandbabies any chance he got.  Sterling was also a member of the First Baptist Church in Combes.

Preceded in death by his father, Dennis Boykin, sister-in-law Michele Brown, numerous uncles, aunts, and his grandparents.

The family will receive friends and relatives on Wednesday, September 13th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Buck Ashcraft San Benito Funeral Home.  A graveside service will take place on Thursday, September 14th at 10:00 a.m. at Harlingen-Combes Cemetery with Rev. Herman Cramer and Pastor Steve Wiest as officiants.

For those desiring, memorial can be made to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 598, Combes, Texas 78535.

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