Gertrude Woods

Aug. 24, 1934 - Feb. 20, 2024

Gertrude passed away peacefully at her home in Alameda on February 20 after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.

Born in Monterey on August 24, 1934 to Benjamin Boyd and Louise Beall , Gertrude was a descendent of early California settlers. She grew up enjoying the outdoors of the Monterey Peninsula and, following in her father’s footsteps, grew to become an accomplished athlete.

Gertrude was once called the finest female athlete to come from the Monterey Peninsula in the first half of the 20th Century. She won the 18-and-under Northern California Interscholastic Tennis Tournament in Monterey in 1951 and the national hardcourt doubles the same year. In 1952 she won the California State Junior Women’s Tournament and was ranked ninth in the United States. Gertrude played as the only woman on the men’s team for Monterey Peninsula College where she is recognized in their Hall of Fame. Later she earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley.

Gertrude married Peter G. Woods in June of 1956 and started a family. She continued to be a competitive tennis player while raising her four children. The family lived for many years in Alameda, California. There Gertrude served her community on the Alameda recreation commission, the Alameda County Grand Jury, The League of Women Voters, and with over three decades of fund raising for the Friends of the Alameda Free Library.

Gertrude is survived by her husband, Peter; sister Chris Parker; four children; Sean David, Carroll, Alicia and Robert; eight grandchildren, Peter, David, Evan, Amelia, Olivia, Graham, Ben and Birgitta; and two great grandchildren Tallyn and Noah.