N. Kay Gill

N. Kay Gill, 88, of Bentonville, passed away Thursday, Sept. 17. She was born July 18, 1927 in Leon, Kansas to the late Thomas Meredith Doughty and Effie Belle Porter Doughty. For more than 58 years she was the loving wife of, the late, Dr. Earl Gill.

Kay graduated as a Registered Nurse from the Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in El Dorado, Kansas. She and Earl moved to Bentonville in 1953 after he was honorably discharged from the Army. She began her public health career in Benton County as the lone county nurse and 27 years later she retired as Director of the Benton County Health Department - Arkansas DPH that she helped build. She was a Past President of the Arkansas State Nurses Assoc., member of the First Baptist Church of Bentonville, American Nurses Assoc., Arkansas Dental Association Auxiliary, the Bentonville chapter of Business and Professional Women, and numerous other accomplishments.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was also preceded in death by a son-in-law, David Barrow and by a granddaughter, Tracy Hamilton. Survivors include her daughters, Terry (Dennis) Harmon of Bentonville, Nancy Smith of Nashville, TN and Kelly (Jerry) Rogers of Springdale; her sons, Tom (Debbie) Gill of Tulsa and David Gill of Fayetteville; 8 granddaughters, Lea Ann Harmon, Lora (Mike) Jeffcoat, Katie (Mickey) Miller, Anna Gill, Victoria (Tim) Peck, Kelly (Ben) Modena, Rosemary Barrow, and Kelsey Rogers; 5 grandsons, Jesse Hamilton, Carter Gill, Michael Gill, Zachary and Jacob Rogers; 3 great-granddaughters, Drew and Brooklynn Modena, and Madison Rogers; 6 great-grandsons, Isaac Peck, Charlie Hamilton, Lane Jeffcoat, Blade Harmon, Chazden Harmon, and Maddox Rogers; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, medical colleagues, and friends.