Gloria Reid Gilkey

Gloria Reid Gilkey died on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at Gwinnett Medical Center in Duluth, Georgia at the age of 92.

She was born in Flint, Michigan in 1923. She and her sister, Margreta, grew up in Fenton, Michigan. In high school, Gloria played flute in the band and was the valedictorian of her graduating class. She attended Brenau College in Gainesville, Georgia for two years. She then transferred to the University of Kentucky where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with high distinction and was invited to join Phi Beta Kappa.

She met her husband, Russell, during her undergraduate studies. They were married in October of 1944 and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in 2014. After graduating, the couple moved to Akron, Ohio where she worked as a chemist at BF Goodrich. The pair then relocated to Texas where Russell was stationed with the Navy during World War II.

Following the War, while he pursued a PhD at the University of Illinois, she worked as a chemist focused on coal analysis. After the birth of her first child Sandra, she became a full-time wife and mother. The family moved to Kingsport, Tennessee when Russell joined Tennessee Eastman as a research chemist. Her second child, Marilyn, was born in Kingsport.

Gloria sang alto with the Kingsport Symphony Orchestra Chorus for many years. She was a crossword expert, an accomplished baker and an astute investor. She and her husband enjoyed duplicate bridge and worked together growing rhododendrons. For more than three decades, they participated in the American Rhododendron Society both locally and nationally.

She is survived by her 94 year-old husband, Russell Gilkey, of Lawrenceville, Georgia. She is survived by two daughters: Sandra Miller of Atlanta, Georgia; and Marilyn Gilkey of Raymond, Maine. She is survived by two grandchildren: Claire Miller of Atlanta, Georgia; and Andrew Miller of Brooklyn, New York. Funeral arrangements will be handled by the Cremation Society of Georgia.