What is the maiden name of Gertrude Boyle?

Gertrude Boyle’s maiden name was Lamfrom.

She was born Gertrude Lamfrom in Augsburg, Germany, on March 6, 1924. Her family was Jewish, and they fled Nazi Germany in 1937, settling in Portland, Oregon. Her father, Paul Lamfrom, later bought a small hat company and renamed it Columbia Hat Company, creating the business that became Columbia Sportswear.

Gertrude married Joseph Cornelius “Neal” Boyle, which is why she became widely known as Gert Boyle. After Neal died unexpectedly in 1970, she took over leadership of the struggling company with her son Timothy. She eventually became Columbia’s president and later its chairwoman, while humorous advertisements made “Ma Boyle” a recognizable brand character.

The surname Lamfrom also appears in the story of her sister Hildegard Lamfrom, a pioneering molecular biologist. That family connection can cause confusion, but Lamfrom is specifically Gertrude Boyle’s birth and maiden surname, while Boyle is her married name.