(January 27, 1870-March 10, 1950)

Last rites for Mrs. Gertrude S. Healy, 80, owner and operator of Healy’s Jewelry and Gift store in Norwood, who died suddenly Friday of a heart attack was held Monday in St. Andrews Church, Norwood.

Mrs. Healy, who was the oldest merchant in Norwood with a record of 54 years in business, was born in Madrid on Jan. 27, 1870, a daughter of William and Catherine Quinn Smith. She was in the second class to graduate from Norwood High school and later attended the former Potsdam State Normal school. After training at the Ogdensburg Business school, she was a bookkeeper for the H. M. Kinsman company, and the Clark dry goods store.

Her marriage to Archie C. Healy of Potsdam, took place on Oct. 28, 1896 and the couple made their home in Norwood where he had started a jewelry store in 1895. Mrs. Healy operated the first Western Union telegraph office and the first telephone switchboard in Norwood, which were installed in the Healy store. After the death of her husband on Sept. 16, 1938, she continued to operate the store alone.

The survivors are a daughter, Mrs. William Leonard, two grandsons, Michael and James Leonard of Norwood; a sister, Mrs. Susan Finch of Ogdensburg and a brother, Wallace Smith of Malone.

(From the Thursday, March 16, 1950 edition of the Potsdam Herald, page 5, courtesy of the Northern New York Library Network @ news.nnyln.net).