A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN
Elsie Lillian Boyd lived on her own terms — and challenged traditional notions of what a woman’s life could be
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For many women in the 1950s, marriage was the holy grail: a home, kids, financial security. But not for Elsie.
ELSIE LILLIAN BOYD Nov. 28, 1929 — Feb. 5, 2021
Elsie Lillian Boyd was 10 and living in London, England, when the Second World War broke out. She was separated from her parents and evacuated to the countryside. For more than five years, she sheltered with families in East Sussex. Already her world view stretched far beyond that of the average elementary schooler.
When the war ended and Elsie finally returned home, she was a teenager. Within the year, her mother died. But loss didn’t define her in a traditional sense. Instead, it shaped her identity, instilling what would become her core characteristic: independence.
At 23,Elsie enlisted in the Women’s Royal Army Corps as a clerk; over time, she ascended to the rank of corporal and was stationed in Egypt. Years in the Middle East sharpened the way she saw the world, as if an invisible pair of binoculars had been strung around her neck.
However, her refined lenses were not exclusively for external exploration; they also peered inward. In her 20s, Elsie made a lifelong decision: she wanted to make her own way in life. For many women in the 1950s, marriage was the holy grail: a home, children, financial security. But not for Elsie. Wavering from societal standards came naturally to her.
Around 1960, Elsie’s father died. She was an only child, so her parents were her entire family. But, once again, she turned loss into discovery. That year, without knowing anyone in the country, Elsie moved to Canada. She had been born in Walkerville, Ont., and wanted to return to her birthplace, so she travelled by boat across the Atlantic and made her way to Toronto. After her army service, she had worked at the Shell Oil Company head office in London and hoped that a position would open up in Toronto. And indeed, one did. She stayed with the company for more than two decades.
After retiring in her 50s, Elsie drove up the west coast of California and through Yellowstone National Park. She flew to France, Spain and Portugal. She continued to travel into her 80s, even if it was just a few hours outside the city to a Bracebridge bed and breakfast, or to Ottawa to cruise along the Rideau Canal. Everywhere Elsie went, she collected souvenir whales — some made out of soapstone, others carved from wood. In total, she accumulated about 100, each marking an adventure.
For Elsie, independence was about more than exploring the world — it was about having the space to choose her daily pleasures: ordering a Manhattan at David Duncan House, a go-to lunch spot; reading the newspaper from front-to-back every day; hunting for a first edition of A.A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”; teaching woodworking at the Better Living Centre for over 25 years; doing crossword puzzles and jigsaws; visiting the Toronto Public Library; and coaching at the Leaside Bowling Club for more than two decades.
Until the day she died at age 91, Elsie lived in her Don Mills apartment. Back in her early 40s, she bought the property on her own and decorated it with handcrafted miniatures. Using a tiny saw, she carved vignettes: a dining room with upholstered chairs, a bar with a pool table and a multistorey dollhouse roofed with individual shingles, a rocking chair perched on a gated front porch and electricity running throughout. Creating these small-scale replicas indulged her imagination. Even inside her apartment, she could explore an entirely new world.
Elsie Lillian Boyd is survived by her special nieces and nephews, Jason, Brett and Vanessa, their kids and her many friends. —