Elizabeth Loyd, 60, psychologist, life coach

Psychologist Elizabeth Loyd kept a sign in her office that summarized her approach to therapy. It said: “No whining.”

Of course, she was a caring listener. And her manner was always warm and supportive, said her husband of 41 years, Jerry A. Loyd of Cumming.

But at a certain point, she’d tell her clients, “We’re not here to listen to your story over and over. We’re here to do something,” he said.

“She was very gentle about helping people. But she was very straightforward, and she said it like it was,” he said. “Her attitude was, ‘Let’s fix what we can fix and do what we can do. Your life is short and so is mine, so let’s get this done.’ “

Elizabeth Boyce Loyd, 60, of Cumming died of complications from cancer March 21 at Northside Hospital-Forsyth. The body was cremated. The memorial service will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Sandy Springs Christian Church. Byars Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Ms. Loyd earned degrees in psychology and social work, then worked in psychiatric hospitals and counseled alcoholics and drug addicts before she set up a private practice in Atlanta.

“She could read people like few people I know,” said her friend Carol Lampman of Tucson, Ariz. “She knew where they were at and where they were going and where they were coming from.”

Ms. Loyd expanded her practice to include consulting and life coaching, aimed at people who didn’t require therapy but who were still seeking to move forward with their lives. She loved to work with people —- especially businesswomen —- who hoped to shed their self-defeating behaviors.

“She was very much concerned about women’s rights and what her daughters could and could not do,” her husband said. “She worked hard for that.”

At seminars and leadership workshops, Ms. Loyd blossomed into an easygoing speaker who could entertain an audience for an hour or more with just a few scribbled notes.

She read serious tomes and throw-away beach novels. She loved to dance at parties, travel abroad and laugh with friends over a margarita or a good glass of wine.

“She was a kick in the pants,” Mrs. Lampman said, “and she thought that laughter was a great healing tool, so she used it in her work.”

Ms. Loyd balanced that lightheartedness with strong spiritual beliefs and pragmatic optimism. She trained as a holistic healer and on her Web site promised clients, “I will hold your feet to the fire and your heart to the heavens!”

“Elizabeth enjoyed learning new things that she could bring to her work. … Anything she could do to help people, she loved learning and passing it on to them,” her husband said.

“She just wanted to make the world a better place, and she helped more people than I can possibly imagine.”

Additional survivors include two daughters, Amy Johnson of Tega Cay, S.C., and Emily Cunningham of Cumming; a brother, James Boyce of Austin, Texas; her stepmother, Barbara Boyce of Van Alstyne, Texas; and four grandchildren.