Gail Ashford

1948 - 2020

Gail Allison Ashford
October 19, 1948- July 1, 2020 Died after long illness, July 1, 2020, bravely and quietly borne. Attractive, intelligent and above all modest, Gail was an accomplished singer who performed with many area groups, including the British Embassy Players. Her artistic debut took place when she was in eight grade, as Mabel, the lead soprano in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. She was an avid reader, who enjoyed poetry and historical fiction, and devoured books about the history of Europe, and especially the British Isles. She attended Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and was elected Class Chaplin. She took a degree in Political Science from UMD-College Park and served as an intern for Sen. Joseph Tydings. She did environmental work for the League of Women Voters, and wrote Montgomery County's first publication about recycling, "Beyond the Trash Can".  Her career as a grant proposal writer extended to many other non-profits including the ARC, and finally St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home. In her six years of seeking help for birthing of out-of-wedlock children and high-school education of their mothers, she only missed one grant, and she got that one upon resubmission the next year. Gail was the second child born to Horatio and Sara Allison of Chevy Chase. Both her parents and her older brother David, 14 years her senior, preceded her in death.  She is survived by her husband Richard, son David and daughter-in-law Susana. Her ashes will be interred at St. John's, Norwood Parish, Episcopal Church. Donations to House of Ruth.