Friends and family remember Rollo William Boyd for his personality, his talents and his loyalty.

His only child, daughter Jane Boyd Tew of Lafayette, La., adds another important trait. “He always was a hard worker,” she said. “He always worked hard to help his family.”

His family buried Boyd Tuesday. He was 91 and recently had moved from Natchez with his wife of 71 years to be nearer his daughter.

Many remember Boyd as gatekeeper at the antebellum mansion Longwood, his final job of several in his lifetime and hands down his favorite, Tew said.

A Navy veteran, for many of the last years of his life he wore a U.S.S. Arizona cap Tew and her husband had brought him from Hawaii.

“We buried him in that hat and with a brochure of Longwood,” Tew said. “Longwood was his love.”

Anna James, Longwood manager, said the staff at the house will plant a tree in memory of Boyd.

“He loved the trees and plants here and he loved Longwood so much,” James said.

Boyd retired from his gate keeping and ticket-taking at Longwood only about three years ago.

Tew said the family expected him to retire after a major stroke five years ago.

“But he came back from that stroke and he went back to Longwood. About three years ago he was still there taking up tickets and balancing out the day,” she said.

As his health deteriorated, however, he had to retire from the job he loved so much.

After a short stint in the Navy in the 1940s, Boyd returned to Natchez and worked at Armstrong Tire & Rubber Co.

The job was a good one, and he remained there for 32 years; but there was a yearning he had to fulfill, Tew said.

“He always wanted to live in the country. He wanted chickens and cows and everything like a farm,” she said. “At one time, he had 2,400 caged hens and supplied eggs to the hospital, Feeder Service and all kinds of grocery stores. He had quite a business.”

He operated his egg business from his rural home for 35 years.

Boyd met people from all over the world during his tenure at Longwood, which lasted 22 years.

John Saleeby, former manager of Natchez Pilgrimage Tours and a group tour guide, remembers joking with people on bus tours about what to expect at the Longwood gate.

“I told them he would have a lot to say and that if I let him get on the bus he would talk personally to each one of them,” Saleeby said. “And it’s true. He would have.”

Boyd liked to sing. He fancied himself a Western-style singer and learned to yodel in that fashion, Tew said.

“He was quite a singer. He loved Jimmie Rodgers, and that’s who he tried to imitate,” Tew said.

Saleeby said Boyd always was singing when the bus arrived at the gate. “He was truly an icon. He was part of the tour.”

James said people from all over the world would send back pictures to Longwood they had made of themselves with Boyd.

“And he really could sell tickets,” she said. “If someone was unsure whether to buy a ticket to see the house, he’d tell them they’d be missing the best thing. He’d talk them into it.”