It is not only her height that makes Gertrude Boyd an imposing
figure. She is devoted to her church, her family and her community
and has served all with ardor over the years.
Gertrude Roussey was born June 12, 1918, in Oxnard, the only
child of Louis
”
Ferd
”
Ferdinand and Gertrude Smith Roussey. Her father bought and sold
property and for 14 years was a Ventura County supervisor as well
as a developer of ranches around Oxnard and King City. Her mother
was an accomplished musician and saw eight of her songs
published.
It is not only her height that makes Gertrude Boyd an imposing figure. She is devoted to her church, her family and her community and has served all with ardor over the years.
Gertrude Roussey was born June 12, 1918, in Oxnard, the only child of Louis “Ferd” Ferdinand and Gertrude Smith Roussey. Her father bought and sold property and for 14 years was a Ventura County supervisor as well as a developer of ranches around Oxnard and King City. Her mother was an accomplished musician and saw eight of her songs published.
Young Gertrude was raised in Oxnard and graduated from King City High School in 1935, the same month she turned 17, in the depths of the Depression. She attended Salinas Junior College for two years until transferring to Stanford. It was at the former school that she met David Boyd. A mutual interest turned into something deeper, and she put the heart before the course and left Stanford to marry him March 25, 1940.
The Boyds became the parents of six children: Jeffrey Boyd of Golden, Colo.; Louise Everett of Salinas; Mark Boyd of Santa Barbara; Mary Wright of Hollister; Rick Boyd, of Lafayette; and Sara Andrade, now her mother’s partner, of Hollister. Gertrude Boyd is the grandmother of 11 children and the great-grandmother of two.
David Boyd was a farmer and so was not called to military service in the Army until 1944. Following the war, he resumed farming in the King City area and Gertrude Boyd tended their growing family.
They moved to San Benito County in 1956 when he took a job with Cornell Equipment Co. The last of her children was born here. Besides raising her youngsters, she became involved in the PTA, and other volunteer activity in those days consisted of the Mothers’ Club and work for her church, Sacred Heart. At the same time, David Boyd coached Little League baseball with Sonny Paullus.
In 1962, Gertrude Boyd obtained a real estate license and worked out of San Benito Realty. She was with Ralph Brigantino and Frank Sabbatini for about 10 years.
In 1969, she became an agent for New York Life Insurance Co., and for more than 30 years maintained her office at 555 East St. By that time she was active with the Hazel Hawkins Hospital Foundation, of which she was a founder, the Hollister Women’s Club and Sacred Heart Church.
Children of that era remember her well because of her kindness and because she gave them balloons. Her license plate now bears the title that some former toddler gave her, “Boon Lady.” One youngster back then was taken with her height of six feet when his father introduced them and joked with his brother later that she was a “big Boyd.” (The entrance to her home bears the title, “The Boyd House.”)
Her willingness to work on many committees and the results she achieved did not go unnoticed. In 1990, Boyd was selected as “Woman of the Year” by the county Chamber of Commerce for her unstinting devotion to the community.
In 2000, after 60 years of marriage, David Boyd died. The family rallied together and the spiritual strength she had received from her parents and instilled in her children was of great solace to them all.
Boyd did not crush her laurels by reclining on them. Her work for goals to which she was committed continued unabated. Two years ago, she, Mike Nino and Kay Filice were in charge of a committee to reduce the $4 million overrun for the construction of Saint Benedict’s Church. They went out tirelessly for months and received pledges if $2,700,000.
Boyd has not allowed recent health problems to slow her efforts. She and her daughter, who have been partners for five years, work together every day at the Boyd and Andrade Insurance Agency on San Benito Street. Receptionist Kellie Andrade (no relation) completes the office staff.
Now silver-haired and not as untiring as she once was, Gertrude Boyd still burns with the ardor of commitment to desirable causes. Her philosophy is simple but it defines her sharply in all the areas of work she has devoted to family, church and community: “I like to serve others.”
