Gibson Boyd
Toronto, d. 8.January.2011
The true-life adventure ended suddenly at age 39, after a brave
battle with Bipolar disease. Gibson will be missed immensely by
Denise and sons Seamas and Alex. Gibson was the beloved son of
Margaret 'Peggy' Boyd (nee Lyons) of Toronto and Robert G. Boyd
(Gabriele) of Vancouver.
He brought joy to grandparents James A. (predeceased) and Margaret
'Muggins' Lyons of Toronto. He is survived by his aunts Kathryn
Lyons of Arnprior and Mary Lyons-Rath (Don) of Renfrew and by uncles
James G. Lyons (Carol) of Toronto and Douglass Boyd of Chicago and
had an especially close kinship with his many cousins.
Gibson had many close friends he considered his 'chosen' family
including Chris Luginbuhl, Tracy Fernandes and Paul Benoit of
Toronto; Joe Quercia of Nova Scotia; Elie Lion of Spain; Christophe
Mathiote, Stephan and Eriq of France; and many others too numerous
to name.
Gibson was passionate about cycling (including mountain biking,
cycle cross and adventure racing), scuba diving, skiing and
snowboarding. Gibson was an environmental advocate and loved nothing
better than partaking in these activities with family and friends.
Gibson's greatest achievement would be his treasured relationship
with his son Seamas.
Family will be holding a private service but Friends and
Family are invited to Celebrate Gib's life with a Memorial held on
Friday, January 28, 2010 between 4 and 8 p.m. at The ONLY/The ONE at
966 Danforth Avenue (just west of Donlands), Toronto. In lieu of
flowers, a donation to any of the following charities that Gib
supported would be appreciated: The CAMH Foundation
http://www.supportcamh.ca/ 1 800 414-0471 ARC (Advocacy for the
respect of cyclists) http://www.respect.to/wp/ Toronto Environmental
Alliance http://torontoenvironment.org/ actioncentre/donate
Let us all celebrate Gib's life and attempt one of the following
'Gibson-approved' activities: Get outside Build a canoe Have an
adventure Embrace an unmet friend Cycle as if you stole it! Gib, we
lost you too soon!
Gibson was a modern day gentleman, a great guy to work with and a
better guy to hang out with. He was a brilliant, generous man who
could carry on an intelligent discussion on any subject. His weapon
was his infectious disarming smile.
I will be forever grateful for the French-English translation of a
major messenger report he did for me just because he could.
One winter he would ride in to the city every morning from the edge
of Etobicoke and Mississauga and I would pass him going the other
way at about Islington and the Queensway. Sometimes we would stop
and chat but most days we would just wave to each other. On those
freezing cold or snow filled days that I wouldn’t want to make the
ride, I would still do it. I did because I knew Gib would be doing
it too and I did it for the reward, respect, and the friendly
acknowledgement of his wave.
He was a very fast rider and he would never show off but I remember
one summer day in the late nineties when it was really slow. I saw
Gib riding down Bay Street South of Queen. He was riding with no
hands, standing up on his pedals with his arms outstretched to each
side. I could not help but notice the clock tower of Old City Hall
looming in the background. He stopped in front of me and I said
“Gibson you liked like you were being crucified on the tower of Old
City Hall.”
He said “It makes sense, a bike messenger dying for the sins of Bay
Street.”
- Joe Hendry
