Gertrude Davis Lindsay

Gertude “Gigi” Davis Lindsay, 96, of Eltham (New Kent), Virginia, went to Heaven peacefully on the early morning of December 2, 2017 at home with a warm embrace from her children and grandchildren. How fitting it is that we are able to celebrate her life during the Christmas Season, her favorite time of the year.

Gigi was born on the farm in New Kent County on May 3, 1921. She grew up bagging groceries during the great Depression, milking “Bessie” the cow (who frequently knocked off her glasses with her tail), and playing with the dollhouse before it fell off the potato truck during the family move to the new farmhouse in Eltham. As the 10th of 14 children, she learned from an early age the value of family, hard work, and sharing, three characteristics that would follow her throughout her lifetime and which she would teach to her children and grandchildren.

Gertrude graduated from New Kent High School in 1943 and went on to meet and marry the love of her life, Robbie Wilson Lindsay. After Robbie’s military service during WWII, they returned to Eltham and built a home in which they would raise children, grandchildren, and indirectly many other’s children. As a proud working mother, Gertrude would become an employee of Citizens and Farmer’s Bank at its founding branch in West Point and from that position, learned to know nearly every person in West Point over a 25-year career.

After retirement, Gigi volunteered at Riverside Nursing Home in West Point almost every Tuesday for 25 years. She founded the “Lively Ladies” after the passing of her husband in 1990, originally organized as monthly support lunches of widowed women that continues today as a regular gathering of dear friends and relatives. Throughout her lifetime she was a very active member of her beloved Tabernacle United Methodist Church where she sat in the same pew every Sunday and shared with her children and grandchildren the importance of loving Christ.

She was a gardener, yearly picking butterbeans, snaps, and tomatoes, and keeping an immaculate yard full of green grass and the prettiest azaleas , which her husband planted during his lifetime. She never missed a sporting event, following her grandchildren’s activities from little league to high school and on into their adulthood. She practiced the lost art of the hand-written note, sharing her condolences, happiness, and her well wishes with so many that benefitted from her grace. Her kitchen table was frequently a gathering place for her family and friends to enjoy her wonderful home-cooking and loving conversation. All of this will be dearly missed.

Left to honor her legacy are her children, Robbie Lindsay (Terri) and Susan Forbes (Dick); her grandchildren Laura, David, Christopher, Sean, and Tracy; and her great-grandchildren Kyle, Justin, Alex, and the newest joy in her life, little Madeline. Her remaining siblings include brother Boogie Davis, and special sister and dear friend, Lillian Blondek.

Family and friends celebrated Gigi’s life on Monday, Dec. 4, 5-7 p.m. at Vincent Funeral Home, 417 11th Street, West Point, VA 23181. A Christmas celebration was held on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 11 a.m. in Tabernacle United Methodist Church, 20051 Tabernacle Road, Barhamsville, VA 23011. Burial and continued celebration followed the service.

Gigi would appreciate memorial contributions given to Tabernacle United Methodist Church or New Kent’s Educational Foundation. Tributes may be posted at www.vincentfh.com.