On Aug. 8, 2019, while bird hunting in Argentina, Boyce Cooper Magli, 76, made one last good shot and died. He died doing what he loved — hunting and being with his friends.
He grew up on a horse farm on the corner of Sneed and Vaughn Road in Williamson County. A graduate of Battle Ground Academy, Class of 1961, he maintained lifelong friendships from his time there.
Few have lived a life as full. An accomplished equestrian, he was a charter member of the Middle Tennessee Pony Club. During his youth, he was known for winning pony races at the Iroquois Steeplechase on his pony, Wee Biscuit. Later, he fox hunted, rode a few bulls, raced motorcycles, walked away from a plane crash, hunted and fished all over North America, and had a grand time playing the role of Big Daddy, a pimp and drug dealer in a Special Forces Training Exercise.
His was a life lived in constant motion, filled with friends and family. Just in his last summer, he took his granddaughters on a cruise to Greece, his grandsons on a cruise to Alaska, noodled for catfish in southern Illinois, hosted a Fourth of July party for 50-plus people, celebrated his birthday and hunted in Argentina. Somehow, he found time for us all.
There was nothing that Boyce loved more than hunting and being with his friends and family; a close second was negotiating a real estate deal. He filled his life with the things that he loved, often standing in a duck blind with a duck call in one hand and a cell phone in the other, hunting and working a deal at the same time. A telephone conversation with him during the winter would often be interrupted with a whispered, “hold on, hold on…” then the sounds of a duck call.
He ignored the old maxim not to mix business with pleasure. To him, business was a pleasure, and he conducted it with an ever expanding network of friends. Boyce was active in the real estate industry for nearly 54 years and first licensed in 1965. He was the owner and broker of Magli Realty Company in Franklin. The Williamson County Association of REALTORS (WCAR) awarded him the REALTOR of the Year in 1977 and he was the Tennessee REALTOR of the Year in 1981. He served on the WCAR Board of Directors and as president in 1977. In 1979, he served as the president of the Tennessee Association of REALTORS. Other notable business accomplishments include being a founding director of Brentwood National Bank and chairman of the bank’s Executive Committee.
He ignored the old maxim not to mix business with pleasure. To him, business was a pleasure, and he conducted it with an ever expanding network of friends. Boyce was active in the real estate industry for nearly 54 years and first licensed in 1965. He was the owner and broker of Magli Realty Company in Franklin. The Williamson County Association of REALTORS (WCAR) awarded him the REALTOR of the Year in 1977 and he was the Tennessee REALTOR of the Year in 1981. He served on the WCAR Board of Directors and as president in 1977. In 1979, he served as the president of the Tennessee Association of REALTORS. Other notable business accomplishments include being a founding director of Brentwood National Bank and chairman of the bank’s Executive Committee.
Not only the real estate industry benefited from his leadership, but the hunting, fishing and conservation sector as well. He was appointed to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission by Governor Phil Bredeson and served from 2003-09. He was instrumental in the founding of the Harpeth Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation. His memberships in the Buffalo River Hunting Club and the Forked Deer River Hunting Club also provided him with many pleasurable days in the field.
He was a member of the Franklin Noon Rotary Club since 1970 and a Paul Harris Fellow. He was also a longtime member and supporter of Ducks Unlimited, the Wild Turkey Federation and the Tennessee Wildlife Federation.
In a life filled with accomplishments, perhaps his greatest achievement was the large group of friends with whom he shared deep bonds.