Gert Boyle, Longtime Chairman of Columbia Sportswear, Dies at 95

Columba Sportswear chairman of the board Gert Boyle, who was best known for her “One Tough Mother” marketing persona, died Sunday at age 95. Executives at the company confirmed her death, noting that plans for a celebration of Boyle’s life will be revealed at a later time. Boyle’s son Tim, Columbia’s chief executive officer, deferred comment until Monday. Never one to hold back, the fiesty but pragmatic Boyle featured in the 1984 “One Tough Mother” ad campaign that depicted her overcoming seemingly insurmountable situations. The no-nonsense Boyle landed in the male-dominated outdoor industry not entirely by plan. During her tenure, what started as her parents’ hat company morphed into a multi-brand company with nearly $3 billion in sales last year. In addition to the Columbia brand, Columbia Sportswear Company also owns the Mountain Hardwear, SOREL and prAna labels, which are sold in nearly 90 countries. Boyle’s resilience was engrained in her character at a young age. When she was 13 years old, she and her family fled Nazi Germany and moved to Portland, Ore. Her parents, Paul and Marie Lamfrom, started the Columbia Hat Company in 1938. After studying at the University of Arizona, she and her husband, Neal Boyle, returned to Oregon

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