Donald Gill

Donald Edward "Don" Gill, 79, longtime Seminole, Oklahoma resident, passed away at his home on October 22, 2018. Don was born  November 10, 1938 in Muldrow, Oklahoma to parents, Elza L. Gill and Dorothy Mae (Stephens) Gill. Don graduated from Muldrow High School in 1956, Eastern State College in 1958 and Northeastern State University in 1960. In 1964, he obtained his Master’s at Northeastern while doing some of his graduate studies at the University of Oklahoma.  He taught at Muldrow Public Schools, Burbank Public Schools and at the Oklahoma Military Academy.  Don came to Seminole in 1969 along with President Elmer Tanner and a few other professors from Claremore. They made up the original faculty of Seminole Junior College as it separated from Seminole High School. He served as Dean of Students from 1969 to 1983 and taught speech in the Language Arts and Humanities Division until his retirement in 1991. While Don was teaching at SJC, he began a new business, Parkview Florist and ran it for several years before retiring. Many weddings and special occasions were entrusted to Don for his floral expertise and catering skills. As soon as Don came to Seminole, he immediately became an active civic volunteer in the Seminole community.  He was a member of the Rotary Club, past president of the Seminole Elks and a devout elder in the Presbyterian Church. He was a member of the Maple Grove Chapel Association doing preservation work in the city cemetery. For over 30 years he has helped organize and operate the Interfaith Social Ministries programs and our local Seminole Food Bank.  For many years Don was the driving force behind the Rotary Club’s annual Christmas dinner, providing food and fellowship to anyone who wanted to attend on Christmas day. He was on the board of the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum. He was a very active member of the Seminole Chamber of Commerce and volunteered every year at their Independence Day Celebration at the food tent, usually cutting and serving watermelon. Don had a passion for collecting Depression glassware. He was also a 32nd degree Mason. Don was awarded the Distinguished Service Award in 2014 for his longtime support of Seminole State College and his commitment to students of the institution. He was awarded the Community Service Award by the Seminole Chamber of Commerce. The Don Gill Foundation provides college scholarships to five local High School students each year. The Seminole Chamber of Commerce will be posthumously awarding him the 2018 “Citizen of the Year” at their annual banquet on January 29, 2019. Don is survived by his nephew, Larry Fargo of Muldrow, Oklahoma and his special “grand-friend”, Kylie Britt, daughter of Amy & Kyle Britt. He was preceded in death by his father Elza L. Gill and his mother Rev. Dorothy Mae Gill, his brother Lee Roy Gill and sisters Edith Mae Phelps and Lillie Marie Fargo. Funeral services for Don will be at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, October 30, 2018 at Swearingen Funeral Home Chapel  in Seminole, Oklahoma.  Rev. William Carr of Norman, Oklahoma will officiate the service.  Interment will be at Akins Cemetery in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma at a later date.  There will be a memorial book at the funeral service for visitors to sign but the casket will remain closed. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Donald E. Gill Scholarship Foundation, c/o First United Bank, P.O. Box 1391, Seminole, Oklahoma  74818-1391. Funeral Services are under the direction of Swearingen Funeral Home in Seminole, Oklahoma. Funeral Information: October 30, 2018, 10:00 AM Swearingen Funeral Home Chapel located at 1001 N. Milt Phillips, Seminole, OK 74868