Gladys Kill

SPENCERVILLE -- Gladys Louise (Lawyer) Kill, 97, of Spencerville, passed away on Friday, August 15, 2025 at Otterbein Senior Living Center in St. Marys.

She was born September 25, 1927 in St. Vincent Hospital, Toledo, a daughter of Ray H. Lawyer and Anna Helen (Meter) Lawyer, both of whom were deceased. Her stepfather, Jesse Wilbert Lawyer, is also deceased. On October 6, 1951, she married Leonard Nelson Kill at St. Joseph Church in Wapakoneta and passed away on April 3, 2024.

Mrs. Kill is survived by her children: : Lawrence Alan (Kelly) Kill of St. Marys; Karen Marie (Owen) Pugh of Convoy; Mary Denise (Clem) Gallaspie of Wapakoneta; Stephen Mark (Tracy) Kill of Pickerington, Ohio; Evonne Renee (William) Kish of Dover, NH; and Dr. Angela Rose Kill (Robert Rieffenberger) of Denver, CO; 11 grandchildren, Kristopher Chad (Emily) Gallaspie, Phillip Benjamin (Jennifer) Kill, Chad Owen (Sara) Pugh, Dustin Lee (Lacy) Gallaspie, Shonda Marie (Ben) Marley, Renee Suzanne (Craig) Wachauf, Russell Nelson (Emily) Kill, Zachary Alan Kill, Justin Alexander (Sarah) Kill, Ian Nathanial (Katie) Kish and Elliott Robinson (Krista) Kish; and eighteen great-grandchildren with one on the way. She was preceded in death by sisters, Alice Theo Stoker and Wilma Jean Lawyer; step-siblings, Harold Lawyer, Gloria Pauline McCain, Viola Lawyer and grandparents, Alton & Julia (Dantzer) Meter and John Orick & Barbara Ann (Roose) Lawyer.

She attended the one-room school, Hartford, from her first three grades; Jennings School the next five years; Spencerville Schools for 1 year; Delphos Jefferson for a year and a half; Delphos St. Johns for a half year; Wapakoneta St. Joseph School as a senior, having graduated from there in 1946. She babysat as a youth; worked at Murphy's 5 & 10 cent store in Wapakoneta while attending Northwestern Business School; worked one summer during World War II at the Lima Tank Depot; at Sealts Dry Cleaners in Lima in 1947; and for six years in accounting and IBM at the St. Marys Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. from 1948 to 1954. Following the birth of her first child, she worked as a homemaker.

Mrs. Kill loved gardening, sewing and dancing. She was proficient at counted cross-stitching and loved to roller skate. She and her husband met at the Lima Dixie roller rink and she continued that activity until well into her 80's. She was a member of St. Patrick Church in Spencerville and of its Alter Rosary Society in which she had held many of the officer positions. She was a member of the Kossuth Community Garden Club and the Ohio Association of Garden Club for over 30 years. For that organization, she was the OAGC County Contact Chairman and served in many officer positions of the local garden club. She worked as a volunteer calling for donations for the Kossuth Community Benefit Supper and worked as committee chair for three years. She was a member of the Springbrook Gardens Dance Club.

There will be a visitation from 5:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday, August 22, 2025 at Thomas E. Bayliff Funeral Home in Spencerville. There will be a Mass of Christian burial held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 23, 2025 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Spencerville. Burial will take place following the service at Kossuth Cemetery.

Memories may be shared and viewed by visiting www.baylifffuneralhome.com. Thomas E. Bayliff Funeral Home in Spencerville is caring for Gladys and her family.