Ayesha Elenin Gill

Ayesha Elenin Gill, 92, a geneticist, professor, public health administrator and a life-long activist, died of natural causes on Nov. 14, 2025. Born in Fresno, CA in 1933 to Kartar Dhillon and Surat Singh Gill, she grew up with her sister Dildar and brother Pritam in the Central Valley and San Francisco. Ayesha attended U.C. Berkeley, where she received her B.A. in Physics in 1957, a B.A. in Slavic Languages & Literature in 1961, and a Ph.D. in Genetics in 1972.

Drawing on her family’s history of activism in the Gadar Party supporting India’s freedom struggle, Ayesha was politically engaged in many issues. These included the Free Speech Movement, the Third World Liberation Front (that successfully fought for the establishment of Ethnic Studies at U.C. Berkeley), the Black Panthers, the Civil Rights movement, and the anti Vietnam War movement.

Dr. Ayesha Gill was a professor at UCLA in the Biology department and afterwards at the University of Nevada at Reno. Throughout her career she used her expertise in genetics to challenge racist, anti-scientific ideas promoted by prominent eugenicists through articles, television debates and courses in Biology and Society.

Ayesha worked in public health in the 1980's for the State of New York, and finally returning to the San Francisco Bay Area, she worked in the Department of Child and Maternal Health for the State of California, developing a statewide registry for newborn immunizations. She continued her political work throughout her life, including participating in the Occupy Movement, Courage to Resist (supporting conscientious objectors who did not want to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan) and union struggles organized by the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World).

Ayesha got married in 1954 to Wayne Chapman with whom she had her first child, her son Piara. She divorced after a year’s time and in 1957 she married Milton Bud Andersen with whom she had her daughter, Erika. The marriage lasted eight years. Ayesha loved music, dancing, and painting, she traveled extensively for international conferences, and in later years enjoyed doing crosswords and math puzzles. Ayesha Gill’s intelligence, strength, and her courage to live by her convictions and stand up to injustice were an inspiration to her friends and loved ones. She will be dearly missed.

Ayesha is survived by her sister Dildar, children Piara and Erika, and grandchildren Gill, Alessandra and Talia. A Celebration of Life gathering will be held on Saturday, January 3, 2026, at the Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalist hall at 1924 Cedar Street in Berkeley at 1 PM. In lieu of flowers or gifts, people are invited to make a donation in her memory to the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA).