Margaret Virginia Clifton "Margy" Boyd

Margaret Virginia Clifton "Margy" Boyd, 1927-2017

Margy Boyd died in the city she loved for a lifetime, one day after her 90th birthday, on December 7, 2017. Margy was the daughter of Horace Bradford and Olga Caroline Schulze Clifton, and the widow of Nicholas G.K. "Nick" Boyd, Jr. They married in 1950, which the family lovingly referred to as the mid-century miracle. She was predeceased by her sisters, Caroline Clifton Drewes and Virginia Clifton Livermore Byington. She is survived by her children, Nicholas G.K. "Kit" Boyd, III (Ana Claudia), and Alexandra Clifton Boyd Derby Salkin (Samuel); her grandchildren, Gabriel Meir Derby and Kayla Eliana Derby; and members of the Drewes, Livermore, and Evans families.

Margy was a graduate of the Katherine Delmar Burke School and attended the University of California, Berkeley. She made her debut in 1947 and was a resident of Cow Hollow for the last 60 years.

She was deeply involved in the community, serving as a volunteer with the Junior League of San Francisco and as a volunteer and Board Member of the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Association, where she began leading tours of local artists' studios. She was the founding chair of the Modern Art Council of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and later, as a volunteer, founded SFMOMA's longstanding monthly tours of artists at work in their studios, which she evolved into the museum's travel department. After leaving SFMOMA, she founded Margy Boyd Art Tours, a firm that combined her passion for art and cultural tourism around the world, through which she made lifelong friends. Having fallen in love with India in particular, she visited 28 times. Margy also served as a Trustee of the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Margy's father was one of the founders of the San Francisco Opera. Her passion for opera began when she started ushering there while in middle school. She recently declared the current opera season "the best ever," and she will be deeply missed for her assessments of upcoming Ring Cycles.

Margy held deep connections and memories to many places shared with family and friends: summers in Bolinas; sailing on the Bay and at Tinsley Island; and, most especially, time spent at Fallen Leaf Lake, where her parents built a magical summer home, Juniper Ledge, in 1927, which she visited as recently as this past summer.

She and her family were lifelong members of St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church, where her parents were active parishioners. It always held a special place in her heart.

Margy was a champion of local emerging young artists, social justice, and Democratic politics. She was always ready for a gathering of interesting people, accompanied by excellent champagne.

Margy's life will be celebrated in the traditions of Judaism, Hinduism, and Christianity, all of which were meaningful and enduring connections throughout her life.