Obituaries
Bertha Boyes
Former Los Gatos resident Bertha C. Boyes died April 2 in Sacramento, where she had been living. She was 83.
Born Aug. 15, 1918, in Montana, Boyes moved to San Francisco in 1935 to pursue a career in the cosmetology field. In 1941, she married her husband, David "Bud" Boyes, who enlisted in the U.S. Navy the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed. The couple was transferred to a naval base in Charleston, S.C., while Bud served in the Pacific and South Pacific theaters until the end of World War II.
After the war, the Boyeses and their baby daughter drove cross-country to San Francisco, where they later had a second daughter. They then moved to Vallejo, where Bertha became active as a Girl Scout leader. While living in Vallejo, she gave birth to her third child, a son.
In 1957, the family settled in Los Gatos, where Bud built them a home on Lark Avenue, across from a convalescent hospital where Bertha volunteered her cosmetological services. She also joined a local quilting club and later began a small business called Quilting Corner. The business became so successful that she moved to larger quarters on N. Santa Cruz Avenue.
Bertha enjoyed making quilts and crafts for her family and also for those less fortunate who needed them. Along with her eldest daughter, Judith, Bertha supported the food pantry at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, which provides food and necessities for homeless and barely housed people in the area. In 2001, after she became increasingly frail, Bertha moved to Sacramento to be near her second daughter, Susan.
Bertha was predeceased in 1995 by her husband, Bud. Survivors include daughters, Judith and Susan; son Terry; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Memorial services have been held. Donations may be made to the St. Luke's Pantry Fund, 20 University Ave., Los Gatos, 95030.
Edgar Colvin
Former Los Gatos resident Edgar Hall Colvin died in March in Salinas of complications from a brain tumor. He was 70.
Born April 12, 1931, in Los Gatos, Colvin was a graduate of Los Gatos' old University Avenue School, Los Gatos High School and San Jose State University. As the assistant executive director of the Santa Clara County Medical Society, he ran a campaign to eradicate polio titled "KO Polio," as well as various studies.
In 1963, Colvin became the first executive director of the Monterey County Medical Society. He was also a founding board member of the Foundation for Medical Care, United Foundation and American Foundation.
Survivors include his wife of 46 years, Marilyn Colvin of Salinas; son Michael Colvin of Lafayette; daughter Elizabeth Colvin of Washington, D.C.; and two grandchildren.
Memorial services have been held, with inurnment at Los Gatos Memorial Park. Donations may be made to the American Brain Tumor Association, 2720 River Road, Des Plaines, Ill. 60018; to Trout Unlimited Memorial/Honorary Gifts, 1500 Wilson Blvd., Suite 310, Arlington, Va. 22209; or to Cypress Medical Trust Fund, in care of Monterey County Medical Society, 19065 Portola Drive, Salinas, 93908.
Joanne Jackson
Joanne M. Jackson died March 4 in her Los Gatos home at the age of 70. Jackson was born March 30, 1931, and was a graduate of Los Gatos High School, as was her late husband, Ernest.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 42 years, Ernest Allen Jackson. Survivors include son Brian Jackson; daughter Bridget Tesik; and grandchildren Melissa Jackson and Cassandra Tesik.
Memorial services have been held, with interment at Los Gatos Memorial Park. Donations may be made to Hospice of the Valley, 1150 S. Bascom Ave., Suite 7-A, San Jose, 95128.
Georgia Travis
Los Gatos resident and longtime community activist Georgia Ball Travis died March 12 at the age of 94.
Travis was born in 1908 in Colorado to a family that raised her to be aware of social justice and injustice. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma and the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, she began her career in social work in Chicago at the beginning of the Great Depression. For 43 years, she worked in federal, state and local public welfare agencies, health agencies and private charities as a medical social worker, consultant and administrator.
A Fulbright Scholar, Travis taught in the department of social studies at the University of Sydney in Australia from 1953-'54 and later served as a professor of social work at San Diego State University until her retirement in 1970. She then came to Northern California for a research project and the completion of a textbook. Her publications include numerous journal articles, two textbooks and a chronicle of her career, titled Round Peg, Round Hole.
At the age of 76, after 10 years of retirement, Travis began noticing society's growing problem of homelessness. She approached the Los Gatos-Saratoga branch of the American Association of University Women and formed a committee to study this problem and provide services for homeless women and children.
In time, Travis and her volunteers enlisted help from other organizations as well, including the YWCA and the Junior League. They created educational day programs at the San Jose Family Shelter and initiated a wide study by the Stanford Center for the Study of Families, Children and Youth.
Eventually, InnVision, a nonprofit San Jose shelter agency, agreed to open a daytime center for homeless women and children in 1992. Named the Georgia Travis Center, it is now regarded as a national model for such centers.
"One of her great talents was to motivate people to her cause, whether they [were] state and local politicians, or members of the community," her friends recall of Travis. They also remember her dedication to two mottoes: Edmund Burke's "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" and Confucius' "Moral force never dwells in solitude; it always brings neighbors."
Travis is survived by one brother, J.D. Ball Sr.; nephews J.D. Ball Jr. and Robert Ball; two grandnephews, one grandniece and many loving friends.
Memorial services have been held, with inurnment at East Lawn Cemetery in Sacramento.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
