Elizabeth Gill Chamblin

Elizabeth Gill Chamblin, 73, died of covid-19 in a local hospital in Pensacola, FL on Dec. 7, 2020. She was born in Detroit, MI on Sept. 15, 1947, to Douglas and Mary McClafferty Anderson. Gill grew up in Allentown, PA. She is survived by her husband of 53 years, Larry N. Chamblin. Also surviving are four adult children and their six granddaughters and one grandson.

Following graduation from Central Catholic High School in Allentown, Gill attended Marywood University in Scranton, PA, and Muhlenberg College in Allentown. Elizabeth and Larry met in Allentown, where they were reporters for the local daily newspaper. Soon after their marriage, in 1967, Larry was ordered to active duty at an Army base in San Pedro, CA, south of Los Angeles. The couple’s first son was born at the Ft. MacArthur Army Base. Larry was then stationed at Ft. Irwin, in the Mojave Desert of California, where the couple had a second son.

Upon his discharge from the Army, the couple returned to Virginia and soon settled in Maryland. In 1976 Gill received her B.A. in English from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She went on to receive an M.A. in English and reading at the Loyola University in Baltimore.

During more than 30 years in Maryland, Gill pursued several careers, ranging from reporter for a local newspaper in Columbia, MD to heading up the public relations departments of two Maryland hospitals. She earned awards for her newspaper reporting on local government. She also taught at a public middle school for a couple of years.

Gill and Larry moved to Pensacola in 2000 after he retired from his position with Maryland state government. For several years they took care of Larry’s mother, Bessie Alice (Betty) Chamblin; father, LCDR Jay Howard Chamblin; and Gill’s mother, Mary McClafferty Anderson. One of Larry’s cousins remarked that “Gill seems to thrive in her care-giving role.”

For close to 10 years Gill was an English teacher at Pensacola Catholic High School. Her love of literature, acquired during her early teen years in Allentown, equipped her to be an inspiring teacher for many students. Since moving to Pensacola in 2000, in addition to care-giving, Gill has devoted much of her time to the study of ancient civilizations, as well as her love of literature. She also became a mentor for her grandson, Oliver, and became a strong supporter of his climate change activism.

In addition to her husband, Gill is survived by four adult children: Keven, of Hobbs, NM; Douglas, of Atlanta, GA; Matthew of Decatur, GA; and Emily of Pensacola. For 18 years Emily and her 17-year-old son Oliver have been a part of the Chamblin’s extended family in Pensacola. Gill is also survived by six granddaughters: Corina and Raleigh, of Decatur; Vesta and Amy, of Hobbs; and Leila and Hazel, of Atlanta.

A memorial service for family and friends will be held on Dec. 26 in Pensacola. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that family and friends may make contributions to https://fundraise.heifer.org/fundraiser/3081067.