Robert M. Boyer, 83, of Winnetka, an attorney for the Leo Burnett advertising agency for 40 years, died of pneumonia Wednesday, Oct. 23, in Evanston Hospital. Mr. Boyer was born in Nebraska and moved to the South Side of Chicago after high school in 1936 to study business at the University of Chicago. In World War II he trained as an Army Air Forces navigator and bomber and became a lieutenant. During his first bombing mission over Germany in 1945, his plane was shot from the air. He parachuted to safety and carried out 27 other bombing missions. When he returned from the war he attended the University of Chicago Law School. In the early 1950s he began work as an attorney at Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago and started the agency’s legal department. His daughter, Rachael E. Smith, recalls his knowledge of immigration law, which he used to help relocate more than 50 of the agency’s employees to offices overseas. “He counseled and mentored younger employees in their new careers and was a source of guidance and advice on both work and personal matters to them,” his daughter said. Mr. Boyer retired in 1994, at age 75, and spent time with his two German shepherd hounds, Max and Millie. He also worked as a volunteer, answering immigrants’ legal questions about settling in the United States. Mr. Boyer’s first wife died in the 1960s, and his second marriage ended in divorce. He is also survived a brother, Richard. Funeral services have been held.
