Gail Williamson

Gail Miller Williamson of Royston, Georgia passed away at St. Mary's Hospice House Wednesday, January 14, 2015 after a lengthy illness. She was born in Clarendon, Texas and raised in Lubbock, Texas where she graduated from Texas Tech University in 1984 before earning her M.S. (1986) and Ph.D. (1989) degrees in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. Gail spent one year as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1990, she joined the faculty of the Department of Psychology, University of Georgia where she would spend the next 20 years before retiring in 2010 as Professor Emerita.
A prolific researcher, Gail produced 70 scientific publications, one research handbook, and 55 scholarly presentations, many invited. While at UGA, Gail was Principal Investigator on two multi-million dollar grants in Health Psychology and Co-Investigator on six additional funded projects. She was on the Editorial Boards of eight scholarly journals and reviewed regularly for various international, national, state, and private research institutes. She was a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Gerontological Society of America, the Center of Applied Cognitive Research on Aging, University of Michigan, and the Owens Institute for Behavioral Research of the University of Georgia. Among her many awards were the William A. Owens Award for Creative Research (2006) and the Harold Yucker Award for Research Excellence in Rehabilitation Psychology (2005). Gail chaired the Ph.D. program in Life-span Human Development from 1996-2010 and chaired or served on more than 15 additional standing departmental or university committees. An active mentor, Gail directed 12 doctoral dissertations and 15 master's theses.
After retiring, Gail delighted in welcoming her first grandchildren (twins!) into her life. She also rekindled her passions for creating interesting works of art (her original college major), home decorating, gardening, and reading good literature. She also much enjoyed traveling around the country in her RV.
Dr. Williamson is survived by her mother, Nell McEwin and her partner, Dr. David Shaffer, both of Royston, her son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Todd and Hiroko Williamson of Boston, MA, and her twin grandchildren, Noah and Mia Williamson.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Online condolences may be offered at www.bernsteinfuneralhome.com.
Bernstein Funeral Home and Cremation Service is in charge of arrangements.