Gert Boyle

Business Pioneer and "Tough Mother" to Oregon

Gert Boyle, who passed away Nov. 3, may be remembered as her “One Tough Mother” character from the iconic Columbia Sportswear ads with her son CEO Tim Boyle ’71, but to us she was that and so much more. The chairman of Columbia Sportswear generously shared her wisdom with Lundquist College students during the early days of the Women in Business club, as a panelist for the twelfth annual Women in Sports Business Symposium, and later during student visits to Columbia Sportswear headquarters. Gert was an inspiration to so many and we will remember her fondly.