Alice H. Gill

1927 - 2014

Gill, Alice Harrison On November 20, 2014, Alice Merritt Harrison Gill passed away peacefully with her daughters by her side. A loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, friend, and second mother to many, Alice brought joy to all whose lives she touched with her bright smile, infectious laughter and open heart. Alice was born October 10, 1927, in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she attended Howe High School and then graduated from DePauw University in 1949. She married her high school sweetheart and the love of her life, Ben D. Gill, on July 22, 1950. They began their life adventure together in Honolulu, Hawaii, where they lived after Ben was recalled to service. During the thirty-nine years of their marriage, they lived in seventeen different homes, as Ben advanced in his career with Amoco Oil Company. They raised three daughters, Lonni Anne, Mary Catherine, and Susan Lynn who were Alice's pride and joy. Alice instilled the love of reading in her daughters, grandchildren, and the many young children to whom she read. Alice and Ben's happy marriage was cut short when Ben died in 1989, just one year after retirement. Alice survived him by twenty-five years and traveled as they had planned to do together, although her smile was never quite as bright nor her laugh quite as loud. Alice is survived by her daughters and their spouses/significant others, Lonni (George Donelson), Mary (Dennis Kruszewski), Susan (Robert Kloppenburg); her grandchildren, Kim, Mark, Cory, Matthew, Lindsay, Kendall, and Sydney; her great-grandson, Jacob; her sister-in-law, Kay Gill; and her nephews, Norman and George Gill and Merritt Hougen. Alice was preceded in death by her husband, Ben Gill; her sister, Barbara Hougen; and her parents, Merritt and Anne Harrison. A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 3, 2015, at Irvington Presbyterian Church, 55 S. Johnson Ave. at 12:00 noon. In lieu of flowers, friends and family may choose to make a contribution to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and/or Reading is Fundamental. Final care and arrangements are entrusted to Shirley Brothers Fishers-Castleton Chapel, 9900 Allisonville Road, Fishers, IN. www.shirleybrothers.com.