Last month, on April 10, the Treasure Coast lost a true gem. Thankfully not from COVID-19, but from natural causes. It was Good Friday, and Alma Lee Loy – well-known as the first Lady of Vero Beach - died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.
EM: She wasn’t given that title. She earned that title. She earned it through hard work in our community.
That’s Dr. Edwin Massey.
EM: I’m Ed Massey. I am President of Indian River State College.
Born in Vero Beach in 1929, Loy was a champion for local healthcare, business, politics, the environment, education, the arts. Her influence is on, basically, everything in Indian River County.
She was their first female County Commissioner and Chairperson. First woman president of the Vero Beach/Indian River County Chamber of Commerce.
At the time of her death, Loy was serving on the Indian River State College Foundation board.
Massey and Loy’s 47-year friendship began at her clothing store in historic downtown Vero Beach. It was 1973, and Massey, his wife and two little girls had just moved to the area.
EM: We walked into that shop, and I want to tell you: you would have thought we had lived there for many, many years. She made us all, as a new little family in Vero Beach, feel very, very comfortable. She was holding our daughters and talking to them about school.
Loy always wore bright colored jackets. Her handshake was firm. Her voice, surprisingly low. She made you feel like the most important person in the room.
EM: That’s exactly right. Alma Lee was an extremely good listener. When you talk to Alma Lee, she was not distracted by the things going on around her. She would look you right in the eye.
And she was always diplomatic.
EM: She was person that would not push her ways on you, by any means. She did not make you think your position was not a good position, but you know, at the end of the conversation, you felt like her position was probably a little better than what you thought of.
During her time on the Commission, Loy worked closely with Victor Hart Sr.
Hart started the Gifford NAACP chapter and served as president for 46 years.
VH: Hello! Victor Hart. In this community, we really need a lot of improvements for our living condition. And I could always depend on Alma Lee.
He says she was true to her word.
VH: Every time. Every time. Every time. If she tell you she gonna do something, that’s what she do. And on time.
As a child, Loy enjoyed McKee Jungle Gardens, now McKee Botanical Garden. Later in life, she helped restore it, and currently was serving on the board, focused on the new one-acre Children’s Garden.
CH: She loved the Children’s Garden.
We spoke to…
CH: Christine Hobart, Executive Director at McKee Botanical Garden. Alma Lee was, I think, first and foremost in my mind, she was strong. She was also very genuine. And I have said for years – she is a shining light that guided our community throughout the decades, and she made it a better place to live and to work.
Loy left a financial legacy for the community as well.
JP: I’m Jeff Pickering – I’m President and CEO of Indian River Community Foundation. With her estate gift, that endowment will support local charities that she loved in her memory in perpetuity.
Loy was one of the group’s founders, and...
JP: then the Alma Lee Loy Legacy Society was established in 2011.
The Society is a way to encourage others to leave funds for the community as part of their legacy as well.
JP: Subsequently more than 60 other people, individuals and families have said we’re gonna follow her lead and do the same thing – we’re going to leave an estate gift to support the community and the causes we love through an endowment.
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