SUNNYSIDE — Gertrude McDonald, a Sunnyside civic leader and former Queens Community Board 2 member hailed as a groundbreaking woman in local politics, died Sunday, officials said. She was 100 years old.
McDonald lived in Sunnyside for most of her life, where she was active for decades in a number of civic organizations. She ran for New York State Assembly in 1968, and is credited with being the first woman in Queens to run for office as a Democrat, though she did not win.
"I didn't make it, but I gave the women the opportunity and the courage to compete in a man's world," McDonald told DNAinfo New York last year at her 100th birthday celebration.
She was a member of CB2 for more than four decades, and was involved with the 108th Precinct Community Council and the United Forties Civic Association. She also served as a Democratic District Leader and worked as an aid for the late state Sen. George Onorato, according to an accolade she received from Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney in 2004.
"She was an inspiration to all her peers," said Kerly Serrano of Sunnyside Community Services, where McDonald was an active member of the senior center for years. She was a leader there and would serve as a "spokesperson" for her fellow seniors whenever they needed something, according to staff.
"That was just sort of her strength," Serrano said. "She did big advocacy and she did small advocacy."
That advocacy included fighting a Bloomberg administration plan to cut garage pickups in the outer boroughs, as well as pushing the MTA to restore a bus stop on Queens Boulevard near the senior center.
"It really illustrates how she was looking out for many, many seniors other than just herself,” said Judith Zangwill, director of Sunnyside Community Services, who said she admired McDonald for her years of public service as well as how she "responded to aging."
"She was so vibrant," Zangwill recalled, saying McDonald was still active at the center — visiting six days a week — at the age of 100.
Sunnyside Community Services organization plans to start an "advocate of the year" award in McDonald’s name, as well as name a window in the center after her.
"She had no hesitation in speaking her mind," Zangwill said. "If she believed that something was wrong she absolutely tried to make it right."
Gertrude McDonald and her family blow out the candles at her 100th birthday party on August 8, 2016 (DNAinfo/Jeanmarie Evelly)
Sen. Michael Gianaris, who represents the area, called McDonald "a strong leader and gracious friend to many."
"Gert McDonald was a kind and loving woman who made a difference not only in Sunnyside but throughout Queens," he said in a statement Monday.
McDonald is survived by her family including seven grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, according to her obituary. Services will be held Wednesday and Thursday at Edward D. Lynch Funeral Home, with a funeral to take place Friday at St. Teresa's Church in Woodside.
At her 100th birthday party last August, McDonald told a reporter that the key to her many civic accomplishments was persistence.
"I never took no for an answer," she said.
