Bill Boyd and Marna Tisdel
Regional Member Profile
Our JASNA Oregon & SW Washington Region is thrilled that our members, Bill Boyd and Marna Tisdel are our 2023 Tribute Grant Honorees!
William (Bill) Boyd is a retired construction litigation attorney for the state of Oregon Construction Contractor's Board and a former civil engineer for the City of Portland. Bill a devoted and enthusiastic Janeite. He discovered Jane Austen after viewing the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility. In 2007, he joined JASNA. He has been a JASNA member of our region for nearly 20 years and faithfully attended AGM's. Bill served as Regional Coordinator from 2009-2011 and Chair of Information/Registration when our region hosted the AMG in Portland in 2010. Bill hosted and led discussion group meetings and co-presented at discussion group meetings. With other regional members, Bill co-led discussion group meetings on "Jane Austen's Letters: A Contest of Wit and Satire," "Liberal or Conservative Jane," “A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz,” (a favorite book of Bill’s written by a male Janeite), “What Happened in 1817: The Year Jane Austen Died," and "What Happened in 1803 and in Jane Austen's Life." Bill has such a wealth of Jane Austen knowledge and trivia that he could always be depended upon to provide enlightening comments and insights at our meetings. Bill also gave several PowerPoint presentations on Jane Austen to Multnomah County Library and its branches. Bill was always on the hunt for his beloved Jane Austen in his numerous travels to England, Europe and across the U.S. including his many Volkswalks. On his Volkswalks, he found Jane at Harvard and MIT campuses. Together with his wife, Marna Tisdel, they visited libraries/bookstores to see Jane Austen editions and photograph them. They visited Jane Austen sites in England at Chawton, Bath, Lyme, and Winchester. They even attended a Jane Austen Festival at Chatsworth where Netherfield was filmed for Pride and Prejudice. In his spare time, Bill is researching and writing a Jane Austen time travel novel.
Marna Tisdel is a retired middle school teacher for the Community Transitional School (for at risk children of homeless families) where she worked for 20 years. She is also a former catalog librarian at Fort Vancouver Library. Marna is a devoted Janeite and a patron of Jane Austen in the arts. She has always known about Jane Austen from reading her in high school and college, then becoming more interested in her through her husband, Bill Boyd. Marna joined JASNA in 2007 with Bill, and has been a JASNA member of our region for nearly 20 years. Marna attended AGM's as a companion with Bill. Marna supports our region in a myriad of ways. She served as Secretary and assisted Bill when he served as Regional Coordinator from 2009-2011 and Chair of Information/Registration when our region hosted the AGM in Portland in 2010. Marna is exceedingly helpful and gracious and faithfully attends our regional meetings and actively participates in discussions providing insightful comments. Marna can always be counted on to help our region flourish. Together with Bill, she hosted numerous discussion group meetings at their home. As patrons of Jane, Marna and Bill donated paid tickets to our region for attendance to Jane Austen plays and provides carpooling to regional meetings and events. Marna also provided scheduling information for group attendance at events such as Sense and Sensibility at the 2018 Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. In 2023, Marna, researched possible venues for our Battle of Prague performance. A Jane Austen fan, Marna traveled with Bill to England and Europe and across the U.S. including their many Volkswalks looking for Jane. They visited libraries/bookstores to see Jane Austen editions and photographed them. They visited Jane Austen sites in England at Chawton, Bath, Lyme, and Winchester. They even attended a Jane Austen Festival at Chatsworth where Netherfield was filmed for Pride and Prejudice. For more Jane, they rented a car and did their own tour of the Southampton sites that author, Stephanie Barron wrote about in her Jane Austen Mystery Series. On Marna's continued travels in the U.S. and abroad, she looks for Jane Austen wherever she goes.
To honor Bill and Marna, we photographed them at their new home in the library at Russellville Park. Congratulations Bill and Marna! We appreciate your many years of devotion to our Oregon/SW Washington Region!
Regional Member Profile
Our JASNA Oregon & SW Washington Region is thrilled that our members, Bill Boyd and Marna Tisdel are our 2023 Tribute Grant Honorees!
William (Bill) Boyd is a retired construction litigation attorney for the state of Oregon Construction Contractor's Board and a former civil engineer for the City of Portland. Bill a devoted and enthusiastic Janeite. He discovered Jane Austen after viewing the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility. In 2007, he joined JASNA. He has been a JASNA member of our region for nearly 20 years and faithfully attended AGM's. Bill served as Regional Coordinator from 2009-2011 and Chair of Information/Registration when our region hosted the AMG in Portland in 2010. Bill hosted and led discussion group meetings and co-presented at discussion group meetings. With other regional members, Bill co-led discussion group meetings on "Jane Austen's Letters: A Contest of Wit and Satire," "Liberal or Conservative Jane," “A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz,” (a favorite book of Bill’s written by a male Janeite), “What Happened in 1817: The Year Jane Austen Died," and "What Happened in 1803 and in Jane Austen's Life." Bill has such a wealth of Jane Austen knowledge and trivia that he could always be depended upon to provide enlightening comments and insights at our meetings. Bill also gave several PowerPoint presentations on Jane Austen to Multnomah County Library and its branches. Bill was always on the hunt for his beloved Jane Austen in his numerous travels to England, Europe and across the U.S. including his many Volkswalks. On his Volkswalks, he found Jane at Harvard and MIT campuses. Together with his wife, Marna Tisdel, they visited libraries/bookstores to see Jane Austen editions and photograph them. They visited Jane Austen sites in England at Chawton, Bath, Lyme, and Winchester. They even attended a Jane Austen Festival at Chatsworth where Netherfield was filmed for Pride and Prejudice. In his spare time, Bill is researching and writing a Jane Austen time travel novel.
Marna Tisdel is a retired middle school teacher for the Community Transitional School (for at risk children of homeless families) where she worked for 20 years. She is also a former catalog librarian at Fort Vancouver Library. Marna is a devoted Janeite and a patron of Jane Austen in the arts. She has always known about Jane Austen from reading her in high school and college, then becoming more interested in her through her husband, Bill Boyd. Marna joined JASNA in 2007 with Bill, and has been a JASNA member of our region for nearly 20 years. Marna attended AGM's as a companion with Bill. Marna supports our region in a myriad of ways. She served as Secretary and assisted Bill when he served as Regional Coordinator from 2009-2011 and Chair of Information/Registration when our region hosted the AGM in Portland in 2010. Marna is exceedingly helpful and gracious and faithfully attends our regional meetings and actively participates in discussions providing insightful comments. Marna can always be counted on to help our region flourish. Together with Bill, she hosted numerous discussion group meetings at their home. As patrons of Jane, Marna and Bill donated paid tickets to our region for attendance to Jane Austen plays and provides carpooling to regional meetings and events. Marna also provided scheduling information for group attendance at events such as Sense and Sensibility at the 2018 Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. In 2023, Marna, researched possible venues for our Battle of Prague performance. A Jane Austen fan, Marna traveled with Bill to England and Europe and across the U.S. including their many Volkswalks looking for Jane. They visited libraries/bookstores to see Jane Austen editions and photographed them. They visited Jane Austen sites in England at Chawton, Bath, Lyme, and Winchester. They even attended a Jane Austen Festival at Chatsworth where Netherfield was filmed for Pride and Prejudice. For more Jane, they rented a car and did their own tour of the Southampton sites that author, Stephanie Barron wrote about in her Jane Austen Mystery Series. On Marna's continued travels in the U.S. and abroad, she looks for Jane Austen wherever she goes.
To honor Bill and Marna, we photographed them at their new home in the library at Russellville Park. Congratulations Bill and Marna! We appreciate your many years of devotion to our Oregon/SW Washington Region!