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Gerald Boyd Obituary
Boyd had been diagnosed with lung cancer in February and died at his home, said his wife, Robin Stone. He had been sick for most of the year and had kept the condition private from most friends and colleagues, Stone said.
He was the first black journalist to work the many jobs he held at The Times, including city editor. As deputy managing editor for news, he oversaw the 2000 series "How Race is Lived in America," which won a Pulitzer Prize.
Since his resignation, Boyd wrote a weekly column for Universal Press Syndicate to help people understand how newsroom decisions are made.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press
38 Entries
Masai
June 27, 2024
Thank you for your integrity and service.
B. Thornton
January 5, 2020
Thank you for remaining true to yourself; and for honoring integrity!
T. Denise Asbury
September 25, 2010
I am just learning about this site today. I am able to grieve now - four years after his death - and I am grateful to share. Part of my success as a reporter was due to him. I regret I was not more successful. However, I am thankful for his mentorship and scholarship. When I took his class, he'd smoke. I remember that about him.
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Peggy Carlan
February 19, 2010
I, too, did not know about this site until today.
When I worked as a copy editor at The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Gerald was a cub reporter, I often made substantial changes in his stories. Unlike many reporters who would complain about such treatment, Gerald would ask me why I did certain things, and thank me for my explanations. There was no doubt he was trying to learn all he could, and I was very proud when he achieved such heights.
He also struck me as a kind and good young man.
David Binder
December 3, 2009
I did not know about this site until today...
I knew Gerald at the Washington bureau of The NY Times as a very hard-working, totally honest and very modest person who adapted quietly and quickly to a very competitive atmosphere.
ANNA M. JORDAN
January 2, 2007
IM STILL IN SHOCK TO HERE OF THE PASSING OF GERALD. IM A ST.LOUIS FRIEND AND FEEL LIKE OF PIECE OF ME IS GONE. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES. I FEEL FORTUNATE TO HAVE KNOWN HIM. MY PRAYERS TO ROBIN AND ZACH.
Alester Pryor
November 28, 2006
Mrs. Boyd, my family's thoughts and prayers are with you and your family as you go through this difficult time. May God grant you peace and understanding.
Peggy Noonan
November 27, 2006
Gerald was a good guy. I met him in the mid-80s Reagan White House. He was smart, sweet, a little shy still, a little showy -- if he saw you in a restaurant and you'd tried to help him on a story he'd have a good bottle of wine sent over with great flourishes, and he'd toast you from across the room. He was painstaking in his work. He was a good tough newsman who rose high. He told me once that when he started getting stories in the paper he would call his grandmother or aunt back home and read them. When asked why he would explain his grandmother couldn'tread. He came from an old world and did very well in the new one.
Walter Wells
November 27, 2006
My thoughts are with you, Robin, and your family. My time at the IHT working with Gerald was among the most satisfying period in my career as editor.
Pamela Cytrynbaum
November 27, 2006
A thousand years ago when I was a copy kid at The Times, Gerald Boyd treated me with striking kindness and decency.
I have cheered him on from afar ever since.
Peace and prayers to his family.
Karen Dunlap
November 27, 2006
Gerald Boyd was a powerful man in journalism who spoke with a quiet voice when he talked to professionals in a Poynter Institute program. He talked about his shyness as a public speaker and kidded that his wife told him he’d have to give speeches often as managing editor of the New York Times.
He talked about filling the position of managing editor, and his experiences spoke of his passion for journalism. That’s the way he was when I joined him in a Washington, D.C. panel sponsored by Michigan State University, his wife’s alma mater and mine. He spoke softly but passionately about news coverage and what it could be. His voice is now silent. I hope his contributions will be remembered. My sympathy goes out to you, Robin and family.
Jim Asendio
November 27, 2006
Thank you for demanding that we reach higher, work harder and never accept "no" for an answer.
vicky cubit
November 27, 2006
I rembering hearing the name Gerald
Boyd when I first went to the
University of Mo columbia I knew he
was going to do outstanding work.
Sympathy to your family.
Celia Dugger
November 27, 2006
Gerald was Metro editor in my first years on the Times and I remember at first being intimidated by his gruff, demanding ways. But at bottom, he was a humane, caring guy, a soft touch, and very loyal. I will miss him. Robin, you and Zachary are all in our thoughts. Celia Dugger
Y. Robbins
November 27, 2006
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
Mark Russell
November 26, 2006
To Robin and family:
Gerald was one of my role models growing up in St. Louis. In '79 I attended the minority high school journalism workshop that Gerald and George Curry founded. From watching them, I learned much of what became the foundation of my successful newspaper career. And I continued to look to Gerald for guidance and inspiration. He always excelled at providing both. I'll miss him and his infectious laugh, spirit and, above all, his towering intellect.
Gary Cook
November 26, 2006
May the peace and blessings of God go with you and your family.
Gerald and me crossed paths in early life and I consider him a dear brother who was most generous and loving.
Love.
Thomas & Norma Blackshear - McGee
November 26, 2006
In My Pocket
I have memories in my pocket.
They rattle among the change.
My memories of you are treasures I carry wherever I go.
They are stored in bits and pieces, parts of a beautiful whole
They give me comfort when I think I am alone.
Yes, I have memories in my pocket, like so much other stuff I keep there.
But of all the treasures I have, it’s the memories of you that are the most precious.
Omar Canty
November 25, 2006
My wife, Flora; my daughter, Rakiyah; my son Omar, III; and I shall always cherish the times we shared with Gerald. We enjoyed good food; good times; spirited discussion; games of bid-whist on the trips to and from Hyannis Port to Nantucket Island; and Gerald's sharing his insights of the great writers. We are so much better off for having had the opportunity to be a part of his life, and the lives of his friends.
Our sympathies are with Gerald's family. You have lost a great man, husband, father, uncle, and brother. May God bless and keep you.
Jo Mannies
November 25, 2006
Good-by to a dear old friend from our days in the Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau. A good newsman, a great person, and too soon, gone.
My deepest sympathies to Gerald's family and friends.
Julie
November 25, 2006
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
Carolyn Fisher
November 25, 2006
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
Storer Rowley
November 25, 2006
To Robin and Gerald's family,
My kindest thoughts and prayers go out to you. I worked with Gerald on the White House beat in the '80s. He was a man of serious drive, talent and integrity. You lost someone special and the news biz lost an inspiration. My deepest sympathy.
Louis Taylor
November 25, 2006
He was loved and will be truly missed. My Synpathy to the Boyd Family.
Gwen Parker
November 25, 2006
Robin my sympathy to you on the loss of Gerald. Put your trust in God and he will help you get through these trying times. God's words will help ease the pain of death. It offer us a hope of seeing our love ones again right here on a paradise Earth. It give us comfort knowing that Death will be no more in the near future. Contact me: [email protected]
JENNIFER HARRIS
November 24, 2006
Please accept my deepest sympathies.
Joshua & Lois Ingram
November 24, 2006
To the Boyd Family:
You have our deepest sympathy during your time of sorrow.
May GOD keep you and bless you through this time of need.
David Von Drehle
November 24, 2006
A great professional and, more important, a true gentleman. I felt fortunate to have crossed his path.
Duayne D.
November 24, 2006
I had the priviledge of working with Gerald for a few years and am saddened to hear of his passing.
He always had the highest integrity and since of responsibility for everyone on his staff.
He worked hard to achieve all he did and had high expectations of those around him.
He also had a sly sense of humor and a lot of common sense.
My prayers to Robin and family.
gloria nuernberg
November 24, 2006
Sorry for your lost,He is with God now and in no pain
L. Green
November 24, 2006
Please accept my deepest sympathies.
Chip Scanlan
November 24, 2006
What I remember most clearly about Gerald Boyd was how much he cherished his son. Gerald came to the Poynter Institute in 2000 to talk about the Times' "How race is lived in America" series he guided. But it was the way he described the challenges of getting home to spend time with his family that stood out. He had come to fatherhood in his mid 40s, I believe, and it seemed to transform how he viewed the balance between work and family. My heart goes out to Zachary and his mother. Zachary's father was a special man, in and out of the newsroom. I hope that fact of Gerald Boyd's life will be an abiding source of comfort to Zachary and his mother, and all Gerald Boyd's loved ones, during this sad time, and the years to come.
Pranay Gupte
November 24, 2006
I'm truly sorry about Gerald's death. He was a terrific journalist, and a good man at heart. My prayers and sympathies for his wife and son.
Charles Harris
November 24, 2006
May God bless you Mrs.Boyd
sebrena Rogers/Davis
November 24, 2006
To the Boyd family. May God watch over you all during your time of bereavement. To give you love strength and guidance. Sincerely Sebrena & family
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